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Placement pay off

01 December 2015

 

Returning placement students from the School of Science & Engineering recently delivered a series of presentations to peers, academics and employers.

A keynote address by Lynsey Hyde, capability co-ordinator at GlaxoSmithKline, was well received. Lynsey, who completed a placement at GlaxoSmithKline as a stability analyst as part of her forensic science degree at Teesside, talked about the impact of a placement on career progression.

The conference celebrated the students’ achievements, giving their placement employers an opportunity to share in their success. Current second-year students who are considering placements had the opportunity to ask questions.

These presentations confirmed that the students had all learned so much by spending a year in the workplace and felt better prepared for their final year of studies. Many advised they would be returning to their placement employer as a graduate employee after their final year.

Nauman Ahmad, BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering, went straight into a job using his new skills, including those he learned during his industrial placement year. He said, ‘After my second year, I completed a 12-month industry placement at Farnell Element 14 based in Leeds. My role was in the technical support department, helping customers with technical queries about electronic components. The industry experience enhanced my knowledge of components by daily use of datasheets, understanding customer requirements, learning from colleagues, and training given by manufacturers.

‘The group projects on my course were a major contribution to obtaining my placement and securing my graduate job. These provided the skills and experience of undertaking a project, with a given specification, performing research, developing a design, hardware build, testing and fault-finding problems, all within a limited period of five days. I could to apply my knowledge and experience in an environment of a typical project in industry.’

Both events were very well received – employers and academics commented on how the students in diverse roles and levels of authority did well. The School hopes to hold similar events in the future.


 
 
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