January 18, 2021, by Postgraduate Placements Nottingham
The importance of taking the initiative
In this week’s blog Elliot Ogbechina talks about his placement at Hubl Logistics Limited.
~ Elliot
One of the things that I looked forward to during my master’s degree experience in the UK was an international work experience. This was why I was excited to hear about Postgraduate Placements Nottingham (PPN) at a careers event. I immediately made the decision to apply for a position that would allow me to broaden my knowledge of the renewable and sustainable energy industry in the UK.
My interest in renewable energy attracted me to the role of Environmental Engineer and Researcher at Hubl Logistics Limited. Furthermore, I felt that my skills and experiences would make me a perfect fit for the role. In terms of my past experience, I contributed to the development of a solar-powered car during my undergraduate project. In Nigeria, I also worked with the logistics team of an agricultural company, and while applying for this role, I was conducting research on improving the battery performance of Electric Vehicles for my master’s thesis.
I applied for the position, but unfortunately, I did not get the role. The company was, however, very impressed with my skills and experience and wanted me to be part of their team. So, they created a position for me on a different project. This was a Sustainability Transport and Logistics role, which involved me working on three different projects including that of the first role I applied for; Development of well-detailed Risk-Assessment, Field-to-Fork assessment of the product implementation and Life Cycle Analysis to ensure sustainability in terms of the carbon footprint of the product (the initial role).
My time at Hubl was challenging yet rewarding. I worked remotely, which allowed me to work at my own convenience. This required excellent self-management, researching and detailed reporting skills as I had to provide a weekly update on my progress for each task. However, it was not all fun and joy. Most of the projects were interdependent, and this, unexpectedly made meeting project deadlines more complicated. Communication was not as effective as it would usually be, making many people unreachable, thereby reducing my personal effectiveness. Notwithstanding, going through these challenges, improved my resilience and taught me the importance of taking the initiative to reach out and consult any issues with managers and colleagues as soon as the need arises
My line manager and colleagues had so much faith in me, they entrusted me with making critical decisions on the project. I was responsible for creating a detailed process flow chart of the entire business after I had explained its necessity for quicker and smoother transitions in the company. My experience at Hubl significantly improved my self-confidence, decision making, communication, technical report writing and networking skills.
I would highly recommend PPN placements to postgraduate students. It is an opportunity to network with industry players, earn money for yourselves and most importantly, gain new skills to help you solve more problems. As Abraham Maslow once said, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail.”
If you are a postgraduate researcher interested in doing a postgraduate placement or professional internship please contact our team for more information: ppnenquiries@nottingham.ac.uk or find us on LinkedIn.
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