Vacation Student Review

I really loved my time at NPL - I spent nearly 3 months working within the medical radiation science group over the summer - it was definitely the highlight of my year! The project that I was working on was really interesting, and it was a fantastic opportunity to gain a first hand insight into a career in scientific research. It was also a great opportunity to develop my research skills and learn lots of new techniques relevant to a career in this field.

My colleagues were incredibly welcoming and I felt part of the team from day one. The project that I was completing was part of a larger ongoing/long term area of research that my supervisor was investigating, and I was made to feel that the results that I was producing were useful and beneficial to her.

My supervisor was absolutely fantastic - she was a fantastic role model and a great inspiration. The first week of my project was spent getting to grips with new computer software and she was always on hand to answer questions and help as required. She also organised a mini training session for all of the summer students / new researchers which was really useful. I met regularly with my supervisor to discuss the results of my project and what to do next. I felt very well supported and guided throughout my placement.

I was fairly busy on a day to day basis. Each morning I would typically analyse results from a computer simulation that I had run, compare these to experimental data, and then decide what simulations I would need to run next. I would then spend the afternoon preparing these simulations so that I could run them over night and have the data by the next morning. There were a few times when I had to wait for simulations to run before I could progress with my project, but my supervisor gave me separate activities to do during these periods (usually plotting and analysing some of her experimental data) so that I always had something to do and was never left twiddling my thumbs.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility within my own project. At the beginning my supervisor typically laid out each of the steps that I would need to carry out, but as I progressed with the project, I was given more and more freedom to make my own decisions on what action needed to be taken next, and in what direction I should take the project.

I learnt a lot of new computational techniques which will be invaluable in the rest of my degree and also my career. I also gained a lot of experience in performing Monte Carlo simulations and using Monte Carlo codes which I think will be incredibly useful if I decide to pursue a career in scientific research. I also feel that I really developed my independent learning and time management skills which will definitely be useful at University and beyond!

I was in an office with all of the other summer students, longer term placement students, visiting students and new PhD students. Everyone got along really well as we were all a similar age and everyone was really friendly. The atmosphere was really welcoming and I used to look forward to going into work to see everyone.

I feel that the internship was organised very well. I was given a work laptop and email and was treated by the human resources department as if I was a regular employee. My communications with the HR department were always very clear, and it was easy to sort out issues regarding payment and leave.

Even though I was only a summer student and there for 3 months, everyone in my team was keen for me to develop skills that would be useful for me in the future. A training day was organised in order for myself and the other students to learn new computer software and techniques. We were also invited to join in with many of the professional development opportunities which were organised by NPL for their full time employees.

I would really love to go back and work at NPL if I had a chance in the future. They offer graduate entry roles across most of the departments and there is also the opportunity to complete a PhD at NPL in collaboration with local Universities. The atmosphere was really appealing and the research going on was incredibly interesting! I think that it would be a great place to work!

The other students were really friendly ad we all got along well. We all used to have lunch together every day. Our whole department went out for lunch and ice cream a few times which was a good opportunity to meet other people. There were also several pub trips after work, as well as a department BBQ and party that we were invited to. As a summer student we were also invited to social events (making water rockets & lunches) to get to know other summer students working in different departments.

The living costs were quite high in the immediate area, but the transport links were great so it was possible to live further out and commute in to work every day. NPL is right by Bushy Park which was a good place for socialising and NPL also has its own sports club. There were lots of pubs and restaurants nearby which were not to expensive. As an NPL employee you get discounts in many local restaurants / businesses

NPL is situated close to Kingston a where there some clubs and lots of pubs and bars. It is also relatively close to central London (you can get trains from teddington to waterloo which go every 15 minutes and take about 40 minutes) where there are loads of options to suit everyone's tastes!

NPL has its own sports club where you can play rugby, football, tennis, volleyball etc.