Project Technical Assistant Review

I enjoyed this placement a lot as I wanted to work in a research and development company. I was assigned to a research project where I was able to be hands on and gain various skills in experimentation, modelling, matlab and also develop knowledge in different disciplines (i.e. chemistry and electronics).

The work culture was very good at the company, as BIC is a small company within a larger company (TWI), I was exposed to different people. My placement year consisted of 15 other placement students from an engineering background so I was able to relate to people going through a similar experience to me but also learn from others and feel involved in different work/social events. I felt hired to be a member of staff rather than a student that will just leave in a years time.

I was able to learn a lot from my own supervisor but was also taught the initiative to directly ask people with more expertise in the questions I had and learn from others. I was able to improve my own skills from the guidance but also work with other staff to move forward with the research project.

At the beginning, my workload was not too intensive as I was learning about the project and began with experimental work. Quickly in time, I became very busy by working on various tasks and managing my own time to hit the deadlines given by my supervisor. I believe that I was busy throughout majority of the placement but this was due to requesting more work to do to maximise the skills I can learn during my placement year.

My supervisor given me a timeline on how he believes my level of responsibility will increase from our first meeting until the end of my placement. A few months into placement, I was given the responsibility to set-up my own experiments, collect data, present in project meetings and also train other staff and users for highly skilled equipment. I believe that my responsibility given was that of a permanent staff.

From doing this placement, I developed a breathe of various discipline that are required to do the type of research I was working on. I gained skills in various areas and was able to decide on doing PhD in the work I had done in placement. This decision led me to finish my degree at bachelors instead of continuing onto a masters and went back to the company to do an industrial led PhD in ultrasonic cleaning. If it wasn't for this placement, I would not be doing what I am doing now.

the work culture was good in the sense that you can enjoy your work, take breaks and talk to other people however, everyone in the company had a highly motivated attitude which meant that everyone worked hard and wasn't abusing the option to have breaks and relax. It was a good balance between working and enjoying your time with other staff.

As the company has had placement students in the past, they was well organised to know the structure of the placement work we need to do i.e. logbook and assignments. Each student was assigned to their own supervisor and projects to ensure that the students had work to focus on throughout the year without being left to do nothing.

As a placement student, my training was only in-house and was done by other staff members for equipment use. They allowed me the chance to train on various equipment and also join the vibrometry user team. I was able to take part in various presentations, project meetings and equipment demos where I was able to develop my personal skills through practise.

The company is linked to Brunel University. This gives the option to join the company as a staff member and do part-time PhD in relation to your research project and the company will cover the fees. Another option is to join as a full-time PhD student where your living and fees are both covered at an enhanced stipend compared to University and also work on an industrial project which allows not only your PhD research to be fully funded and practical, but to also gain business skills to allow you to join the company later as staff.

there is a high number of placement students each year within this small company, this allows people of different ages and expertise to have someone they can get along with and talk to but does not limit you to only one crowd. Everyone in the company is very friendly and join in on any conversation and socialise.

renting in Cambridge is similar to London renting, it can be pricey but it can be cheaper if you rent an entire house with other placement students, this is what I did before starting placement. I found a group of other placement students with a similar start date and we got a house together and commuted together to reduce costs. Socialising is average price however, there are discount evening and work socials that can discount your social event.

there was only a handful of clubs in Cambridge area, some pubs also turn into a club in the evening on certain days so there is an okay amount of nightlife however, it is very easy to commute to London to do things in London instead.

Work arranged various sporting events to join in weekly such as badminton, basketball and vollyball. Outside of work there are also gym and sports clubs that can be easily joined to keep active and socialise with new people.