My first project endeavour at Ecophon UK

Nishal Thampan, a postgraduate at Nottingham University Business School, talks about his Researcher Academy placement with Saint-Gobain Ecophon UK. Walking back through an empty road of West Bridgford on a bright sunny day, I was filled with a feeling of satisfaction and peace, something that was unusual for me after an interview!  Ok that was …

What if you caught Covid during an international conference?

Tien Thuy Quach, a PhD Candidate in School of Pharmacy, talks about her experience of catching COVID-19 at an international conference, and what she learnt about managing her mental health. I was fortunately awarded a Travel Prize (£500) from the Researcher Academy, Travel Award (£500) from the United Kingdom Surface Analysis Forum (UKSAF), and CR …

Entrepreneurial Spirit: Actively seek out changes rather than waiting to adapt

Xijing Chen on doing a Researcher Academy postgraduate placement at Spenbeck, an award-winning family business specialising in providing bespoke, sustainable and inclusive creative spaces. I was a 1st-year PhD student in Architecture, Culture and Tectonics Research Group during the period of joining this Placement for Spenbeck, 2021-22. The research project I participated in during my …

Getting a solid start to my career

This week we hear from Manikanta Ravi about his Researcher Academy postgraduate placement as a Design Engineering Intern at Micro-Mesh Engineering Ltd. I am an MSc Mechanical Engineering Student. Since I studied during the COVID period and have no prior work experience, I was searching for an internship/placement opportunity inside the university. So, I consulted the …

Improving my employability with a postgraduate placement

Cephas on his experience of doing a Researcher Academy postgraduate placement. After spending my formative years in a developing economy, studying in the UK allowed me to interact with students from all over the world, and the majority of them believed that completing a post-graduate placement would improve your employability. I am an international student …

“It was like it was meant to be” – My marketing placement

Khyati Jain on her Inclusive Marketing placement. Being a self-funded research student, I was looking for a placement opportunity to help cover inflated housing and child-care costs that I hadn’t accounted for. Returning to academia after 14 years in the industry, I also missed the rush I felt working in the marketing sector. The inclusive …

My research visit to Sweden exceeded all my expectations

One of our ESRC researchers, Sara Palacios Arapiles, talks about her overseas institutional visit at University of Lund in Sweden. The past term, I did a 3-month research visit to the Faculty of Law of Lund University (Sweden). I chose Lund because my doctoral research focuses on the asylum system of various European countries, including …

My postgraduate placement: an international student’s perspective

Nivashnee shares her experience of doing a Researcher Academy placement. When most people apply for a post-graduate placement, it’s to gain work experience that can help them land their first job or internship. However, my story is a little different. I was an international student from South Africa who decided to further my education in …

The Three Minute Gamble

Zaid Janjua, alumni and former Vitae 3MT® Competition winner, talks about his experiences with the Researcher Academy and how he has been able to give back to the postgraduate researcher community at UON. When I received the offer letter for my current role, the recruiter mentioned something interesting to me. Prior to our first call, …

Bucket list item – check!

Tomas, an astronomy PhD candidate, talks about his experience of attending a conference with help from the Researcher Academy’s ‘Conference, travel and training fund’. Becoming a scientist has been on my bucket list for many years. Since I started working on my Ph.D. projects, I have come closer and closer by the day to achieving …