How a postgraduate researcher helped us focus on the next step for our business

A blog from Grace Holland of Cultivate IT about the experience of hosting a postgraduate placement student. As a small business with ambitious plans, we were excited to learn about the Researcher Academy’s Postgraduate Placements programme at the University of Nottingham. At Cultivate IT, we have been helping schools and businesses with IT support for over …

Discovering the value of good company culture

Shafira Andriani shares her experiences of a postgraduate placement at Leonard Design Architects. I had just completed my master’s study and was waiting for graduation when the placement opportunity knocked. I first stepped foot in the UK in 2021 full of passion to pursue study in MArch Architecture and Sustainable Design. Being able to study …

Gaining confidence through two placement experiences

Adeola Oyewale shares her experience of two postgraduate engineering placements organised by the Researcher Academy. I am Adeola, a full-time software developer who came from Nigeria, my home country, to get a Master’s Degree in Electronic, Communications and Computer Engineering at the University of Nottingham. While studying, I was lucky to get working experience through …

My placement for a cutting-edge research project with Biodiversify and ClimateHorizon

Szu-Yu Chen, a researcher in Nottingham University Business School, talks about her postgraduate placement experience. In 2022 summer, I was not sure what I would like to do after my PhD and felt anxious about the future since I was a 3rd year PhD student. Without any publication and teaching experience, I was wondering what …

Carbon transparency and cost accuracy

Tim Barbary, Company Director at Benchmark Consulting Ltd talks about his experience of hosting University of Nottingham postgraduates through the Researcher Academy’s award-winning placements scheme.  Benchmark Consulting Ltd has been supporting the packaging industry for over 10 years providing commercial estimating, financial measures, and workflow management software to some of the largest producers of plastic, …

How postgraduate placements helped us to manage increased interest in our business

Lucia Loffreda, Senior Researcher at Research Consulting, reflects on the experience of hosting two University of Nottingham postgraduate researcher placements.  Research Consulting has a long and successful history of working with University of Nottingham graduates and students. The various placement schemes offered by the University have been the main way we’ve done this over the …

My placement with the Digital Nottingham project

Katherine Bird, a PhD student from the School of Psychology, on her placement with Digital Nottingham. I am a PhD student in the School of Psychology. I began my PhD during the Covid-19 pandemic. So, I spent the first year at home and missed out on a lot of research, teaching, and learning opportunities usually …

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 …

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 …