50 Years of Co-op: Ailbhe Kiely

It’s also important to learn to be uncomfortable, taking on tasks that put you outside your comfort zone is such a huge learning opportunity your future self will thank you for. 

Ailbhe Kiely shares her feelings on the importance of stepping outside your comfort zone and learning to embrace the discomfort that students can feel while on placement. 

Tell us a bit about yourself, what course did you study in UL, what has your career looked like to date? 

 I’m originally from Limerick but now living in NYC working in Strategy Analytics in LinkedIn. I studied Financial Mathematics at UL, graduating in 2017. I decided to study Maths at UL because it had been my favourite subject in school, and I chose UL because my parents worked there so it was close to home!  During my time at UL, I did two internships, a summer internship in Paddy Power in Dublin, and my co-op in Glass Lewis in Limerick. The internships gave me some hands-on experience in solving business problems using data and I knew I wanted to pursue a career in Analytics. After graduating, I moved to Dublin, where I began my career in analytics consulting at Accenture. Over the next few years, I had the chance to work on diverse projects in fields like life sciences, finance, and consumer products. It was an incredible learning experience, helping me build a strong foundation in data analysis and stakeholder engagement. 

More recently, I moved to New York for a change of scenery. I currently work at LinkedIn, where I lead strategic analytics initiatives and collaborate closely with leaders on LinkedIn’s strategy. Each step in my career has been driven by a desire to use data not just to solve problems, but to inspire better decisions and drive change.

Tell us a bit about your co-op placement, what organisation did you work with and what year it took place? 

My co-op placement took place in 2016 at Glass Lewis in Limerick. Glass Lewis is a governance and investment research firm, and during my time there, I worked on the Quantitative Research team, which involved conducting financial data analysis for their annual proxy reports. 

What impact did your co-op placement have on your future career? 

My co-op placement helped me with my future career by learning more of the soft skills that I didn’t necessarily get with a degree in Maths. It was also a great opportunity to apply the analytical skills that I learned in my degree in a real-world setting and get a taste of a 9-5 job. 

What piece of advice would you give to students going on co-op now? 

My advice to students going on their co-op placements is to embrace every opportunity for learning and growth. Approach your time in the organization with an open mind and a willingness to ask questions. It’s also important to learn to be uncomfortable, taking on tasks that put you outside your comfort zone is such a huge learning opportunity your future self will thank you for.