Open Day Planner Review

The projects I was working on were quite fun but it was over summer, and there were no students there so it was slightly boring. I did get paid really well for it, despite being employed by a University and my meals were free, so it worked out great overall.

My supervisor and his team were the only ones who knew me in the entire building, but they were really helpful throughout the summer. They always offered to assist and help me whenever possible and always gave me time to take me through their work and research.

My supervisor and his team were very keen to let me shadow them for a couple of days each, and even involved me in some of their work. They gave me a detailed insight into the work they do and the research projects they are involved in.

I really enjoyed my work, so even though I had a lot to do, it was never boring or busy. I kept myself busy by making sure I do my best to represent the department and their research interests well through my work, which involved putting together an open day for students.

I was given a budget, and was solely responsible for designing activities, posters, and schedules for the open days attended by A-Level students wanting to see what studying Physics at Oxford is like.

Although my role wasn't highly critical to the Department's reputation, I still had to be careful with handling the funds for my project, and make sure I reflect the Department's values, work-ethic and reputation accurately. My financial accounting, event-planning, and public-speaking skills were developed further, and will be very useful in the future.

Most of the researchers in my team were either post-doc level or higher, and there was a considerable age-difference between us. They were also very dedicated to their work, and were in the lab, or at their terminals throughout the day. All of these factors combined meant that there was not much of an opportunity to chat or relax with co-workers.

It was well set-up in terms of the clear objectives, deadlines, and budgetary constraints I was set. However, the scope of the project was quite broad, and I was given unlimited freedom to take the project wherever I wanted. I was given rough guidelines, but I could have done with more precise directions.

Even though there was no opportunity, or need for extra personal training and development, my supervisor still made an effort to get me into summer-school lectures and research events to give me a better idea of the activities the rest of the department are involved in.

Since I am hoping to go into academia as a researcher, I would like to study further at Oxford for a DPhil. Hopefully I will be able to get on a good masters project next year, which should stand me in good stead to get funding for my DPhil, I would like to study further at Oxford due to the world-class reputation of the institution in research and academia.

There were a few of my friends spending their summer in Oxford, so I was able to socialise with them. However, since most of the students were back in their respective homes, it was very quiet and there wasn't much to do. Still, we tried to go out and have a nice time every evening.

My food and accommodation was paid for by Hertford College, and the costs for socialising are relatively low. However, for better socialising prospects, such as picnics and parks, I had to travel further away from the main campuses, which cost me extra and was not covered as part of my contract.

Since most students were away for summer, the nightlife was terrible and there wasn't much to do. However, we still went to a few clubs and bars, and managed to have some nice evenings of cocktails and chilled-out dancing.

Despite the lack of students, a lot of societies were active over the summer and were running a lot of free events. It was a nice experience to attend these outside of term-time and it was also nice to experience some of the local culture at Oxford, both of which are things which I don't normally get a chance to do.