Applied Science Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed my year at Lubrizol in the Applied Science department. The department was so welcoming from the start and the skills and experience I have gained are invaluable.

At Lubrizol you are given responsibilities and treated as though you are a valued member of the department early on in your role and throughout the year.

My supervisor was very helpful throughout the year and provided guidance whenever needed. Sharing an office also meant that a good relationship was built which made asking any questions easy. They were very supportive and keen to see me develop personal and technical skills, which will be useful in my remaining time at uni and in a future career.

Each day was fairly busy and the days seemed to pass quickly as I was kept occupied. There was the odd couple of quieter days but overall, work was steady and the days were varied and busy.

I was given a good amount of responsibility and left to manage my own time running tests and analyzing data. Discussions with my supervisor decided what tests to run and which to prioritize and then it was my responsibility to carry this out.

My year at Lubrizol has provided me with a valuable insight into how chemistry is applied in industry. I was given the opportunity to learn a number of techniques, tests and given training on several instruments. I also developed my presentation skills with the help of my supervisor.

Friendly and relaxed, despite being in a professional environment we were able to have a laugh. This made the days enjoyable and meant that it was easy to ask anything if I needed guidance.

Communication running up to the interview could have been better, but once I was at Lubrizol everything was pretty well organised.

I was trained on a number of instruments and encouraged to go to as many internal presentations as I was interested in, despite time was taken out of the working day. Training was ongoing throughout the year.

I would work there again, very friendly site and I thoroughly enjoyed my year

There are around 26 student placements across the whole site so there is a large community of students in the same situation as yourself. This is good for the social side and when trying to find accommodation/someone to share with. The sports and social club was also really good as there were activities organised regularly/could be arranged by joining the committee.

Derby has both reasonable priced accommodation and pricier options depending what you want. Good range of bars and restaurants in the city center and a number of budget gyms too.

A lot of bars and as it is a student town there are often student deals. There is only one decent club really (Popworld) but Nottingham is close by with way more bars and clubs

Several committees on site to get involved with. Sports and social club has a wide variety of things to do and gives the opportunity to try things you maybe wouldn't normally try. Usually other students up for doing things in the evening.