June 12, 2019, by Postgraduate Placements Nottingham
The Graduate School’s 1000th postgraduate placement: a landmark for students and business
To mark the 1000th placement offered by Postgraduate Placements Nottingham (PPN) we spoke with some of those involved, including: Abbie Tomes (Life Sciences postgraduate), Paul Rice (PPN Placements Delivery Manager), and Jo Hay, Sales and Business Development Director at Albumedix).
“I’ve really enjoyed my time at Albumedix… it’s been an eye opener!” says Abbie Tomes, a Life Sciences postgraduate, as she approaches completion of the 1000th placement that the Graduate School’s PPN programme has made available to the University of Nottingham postgraduate community.
This is music to the ears of Paul Rice, PPN Placements Delivery Manager, who is thrilled to have seen PPN collaborating with Albumedix, a world leading, Nottingham headquartered company which develops recombinant human albumin technologies and therapies:
“There was a time when it was challenging and confusing for UK businesses and students to approach each other but over the past decade at UON we’ve developed great links with the business community and a model that is mutually beneficial and rewarding to all parties. To be able to place University of Nottingham students with a company of the calibre of Albumedix, and for a company like theirs to recognise the skills and knowledge offered by our postgraduate community, shows the way that a truly collaborative approach to placements opens doors for everyone involved.”
Jo Hay, Sales and Business Development Director at Albumedix, echoes these remarks, observing that:
“The arrangement of the placement with the PPN team at University of Nottingham’s Graduate School was very quick and straight forward, which made the placement offer and process as smooth as possible for our organization. It allowed our Market Development Team to quickly and easily bring in an expert, outside perspective to a business analysis project and help challenge our current perceptions of the area.”
“I think it’s that ‘eye-opening’ dimension of the placement, as I said before, that’s so great about the PPN programme, and the fact that it runs both ways,” adds Abbie, “It was great for me to discover different career options available, and develop new skills and experience working with a variety of inspirational people. At the same time it was great to feel that my work analysing the vaccine and gene therapy market for Albumedix may actually make a difference in the world. ”
As Paul Rice also observes, the longevity of the PPN programme means that it’s been possible to track and evaluate the impact of many of the thousand placements, both in terms of student outcomes and added value to the local economy. For instance, research conducted in 2017 found that PPN placements alumni generally achieve better degree outcomes, are more employable and command higher salaries than their peers. Equally, from the placement host side, a 2015 survey of 20 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) who have hosted placements showed that involvement in the programme resulted in a total £205,000 Gross Value Added (GVA) across these businesses.
After delivering their first thousand placements what’s next on the horizon for Postgraduate Placements Nottingham? This summer, PPN will be launching a ‘Productivity Through Innovation’ three year collaborative programme involving the University of Derby, Nottingham Trent University and The University of Nottingham, which will provide support to 181 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through consultancy-based postgraduate placement projects developed with input from academic partners specialising in productivity.
If you are a company interested in hosting a postgraduate placement student please visit our webpage for more information.
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