Research Placement Review

To an extent, I enjoyed my internship quite a lot as I got to work with someone who was much more experienced than me in a lab setting so I got to learn more about working in a lab and put this into practice which was nice as I got to extend what I was learning at university.

I did feel quite valued by my colleagues. I worked with a team of researchers but mainly worked with one of them and I feel like they valued my contribution to the team effort which was nice to know that they appreciated my efforts and the hard work I put into the research.

I was given a lot of support by my team which was really good as they appreciated that I was quite new to this research aspect of Science so they helped me in understanding how laboratory preparation and research works in the real world, which was quite a step up from university.

On a daily basis, I was never too busy. We had a long-term goal to reach in our research project so we broke this down into manageable tasks and we tried to stick to the timetable made. This meant that some days were busier than others and sometimes, we would have to stay later than others.

I was given quite a lot of responsibility during the placement as I had a main role in the project and the research that was happening and this was quite tough at times as I felt like I had a lot to do as I was working in a smaller team but it was worth it.

I think that the skills that I developed while doing research will definitely help me in the future as I continue through university as it feels like the research has also supported my understanding of the content I covered during my time at university and it will help me beyond this.

Generally, the atmosphere in the lab was quite fun. There was only ever a few of us so this gave us the opportunity to get to know eachother a lot better and this was good as it meant that we got on a lot better and thus worked better as a team which was good.

I think the work placement was set up quite well in the way we worked towards an end goal by setting weekly and even daily targets. However, the only thing that was not so well organised was the fact that some tasks took longer to do which resulted in me staying much longer in the lab one day while other days, I could leave earlier.

In terms of personal training, I think they equipped me with a lot of skills which will definitely help me in the future as I know how to conduct research, work in a lab and even write up research reports. Furthermore, I feel like I learnt quite a lot about Science from just doing the research.

Given that this was more of an internship/placement for undergraduate students, I do not think I will be working with them in the future. However, I spoke to the researcher that I worked with and he said that he would happily write my reference for any job related to Science research that I decide to apply for, improving my job prospects therefore.

There was a very good social scene between me and the team of researchers that I worked with. This is mainly because there was only a few of us which meant that it was a lot easier for us to get along and be friendly with eachother, which I really appreciated.

My research was conducted at a university and since I was only there for around 2 months and did not necessarily go in every day, I did not buy or rent accommodation there but rather travelled in everyday and since my travel costs were covered, I did not have to spend money on travel. There were also plenty of opportunities for socialising around.

I did not really get the opportunity to experience the nightlife first hand while I was there because I was usually finished at the lab before it got too late and was home before night. However, I do know that there were many pubs, bars and nightclubs within walking distance of the university where I worked.

There were a few opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. These were mainly work-oriented, however. For example, after finishing our project, I got the opportunity to attend a scientific conference to present the research we conducted with the team of researchers I worked with, and I also got to hear about research by other teams.