"A one of a kind opportunity": Meet our 2026 Manchester interns

Marks & Clerk's Manchester office was delighted to welcome two talented interns this summer through our long-standing partnership with Cummins, marking our sixth year running the programme. 

For the past three years, we have worked alongside Black Talent & Leadership in STEM (BTLS) to recruit interns for the programme. The initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to increasing diversity within the intellectual property (IP) profession, helping us to broaden access to careers in IP and attract talent from a range of backgrounds.

“It is crucial that our industry widens access and opportunity to create a more diverse and creative workforce. This year we decided to extend our program and run two internships rather than one. I am pleased to say we had our largest ever pool of applicants, which included some outstanding candidates,” said Mark Dauncey, Partner at Marks & Clerk.

“This year’s internship was a great success. We received strong interest and selected two well-prepared students who had researched M&C and Cummins, demonstrated a good understanding of intellectual property, and were comfortable discussing their achievements, interests and relevant technologies," added Robert C. Knight, Senior Corporate Counsel - IP Europe at Cummins. "Their enthusiasm continued throughout the four-week placement. They were curious, engaged and keen to understand the commercial and technical context of the work, while experiencing as much of the profession as possible. Their sustained interest made the internship particularly rewarding and reinforced the value of giving students meaningful early exposure to a career in intellectual property."

This year, we were delighted to be joined by Thato Mkoni, who is studying Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Aston University and Evelyn Ozoma Dele-Nwajei, who studies Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hull.

We caught up with our interns to hear about their experiences, offering an insight into life at Marks & Clerk.

Q1. What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about patent attorneys?

Thato: How adaptable they are, since they’re constantly exposed to new technologies, which means they’re always learning and mapping their existing knowledge to unfamiliar problems.

Evelyn: The role is as technical as it can get. Patent attorneys might not be physically inventing something, but they are required to use deep analytical thinking from a strong STEM background to be able to describe an invention in patent language and argue rejections.

They also get to work on a variety of engineering projects. They aren’t just restricted to one field of invention; I would say they get a feel of multiple worlds.

Q2. When have you found yourself drawing most on your mechanical/electrical engineering background during the internship?

Thato: I found myself drawing a lot from my electrical background throughout the whole internship and it became clear that understanding basic principles is essential before applying them to understand the more complex features of a patent.

Evelyn: In interpreting the technical diagrams in the patents. It would have been a lot harder without my prior CAD experience.

Q3. What advice would you give to another engineering student considering a career in IP?

Thato: Go in curious and don’t expect to understand it all, but give everything a shot with genuine effort, and trust the learning process.

Evelyn: I would say, “just go for it”. You can’t really tell if you like it until you've tried it. Like most of the attorneys will say, none of them grew up knowing that they would follow this career path - they stumbled across it and decided to give it a shot. If you don’t mind reading a bunch of stuff regularly and learning new technology without being the one inventing those ideas, then it just might be for you. I am still on the journey to finding out, but I've enjoyed all that I've been exposed to so far. 

Also, seek opportunities such as insight events, career fairs, or internships like this one. Try to find IP attorneys on places online such as LinkedIn and ask questions about the profession. I am still asking a lot of questions, even after 4 weeks!  

Q4. What's something you've learned during the internship that you weren't expecting to learn?

Thato: Business development - being taught how to think beyond just the technical side and understand the commercial strategies of IP as well as the need to be proactive in your personal brand, regardless of what point you are in your career.

Evelyn: I have a heightened sense of attention to detail now. I am more observant of the things around me. I also now pay closer attention to how words are used in a document. A simple word can make all the difference.

Q5. What might people not realise about a career in intellectual property?

Thato: It’s nothing like “Suits”! Most of the work isn’t litigation or courtroom drama. A lot of it is proactive: drafting patents, advising on IP strategy and helping clients build and protect their IP portfolios.

Evelyn: Aside from working with patents - which requires a STEM background - you can build a career in other areas of IP, such as trademarks, from pretty much any discipline. Also, it is an extremely rewarding career as you get to work across a lot of disciplines and industries.

Q6. If you could sum up your time spent with Cummins and Marks & Clerk in one sentence, what would it be?

Thato: A one of a kind opportunity that has opened my eyes to unexpected possibilities.

Evelyn: It is a bit hard to summarise, but I would say, “A dream come true”. 

Let me provide some context. The four weeks went by so fast! There was always a lot to do and learn. I met a lot of people, learned about new technologies, attended high-end courses, traveled a lot and saw new places (one of my favourite parts), went on site visits, ate new food, and enjoyed a warm and welcoming work atmosphere. These are things I have always wanted to experience. It was the perfect wrap up to my summer. 

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