Non- CASE students – Discussion.
For CASE students there is a partner involved that will provide an alternative work environment for students. For Studentships without a formal partner there may be some links to exploit it is the student’s choice whether to make use of these links.
Questions 1. Does your project, supervisor or research group have links that you could exploit in the search for a internship project?
These links maybe into:
Companies-
That could be direct spin-outs
Partner companies interested in developing products from the research work
Suppliers of products, reagents, diagnostic tools etc.
Charities / Not for Profit organisations
Often issues being researched may have charities associated
Government / Policy /NHS
The purpose of research is to deliver change and agencies in Government or external bodies are involved with this. There will be opportunities
Potential benefits or problems of using these connections
Spin-out companies may be based near-by and allow you to keep your project ticking over while you work with them. They may also be very small scale and effectively mean doing basically the same thing as your project with more repetitive and with closer constraints on procedures. It is something to add to your CV but will you might not get a very different experience.
Partner companies or supplierscould mean much less discussion when it comes to finding a role. They may feel a little obliged to find an internship for you so maybe haven’t thought through the project as carefully. It could build to your broader understanding of your research project but maybe not give you insights into a different field.
Charities and NFP organisations Come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, the smaller ones you might find you are doing all sorts of jobs and the ethos can be if you’re not chipping in with what needs to be done you’re in the way. So you need to be willing to get your hands dirty and do things you might not be great at. The larger charities can be highly organised machines but a lot of their focus is on generating revenue, make sure the project isn’t just fishing for money.
Government / Policy
Some government research lab e.g. Rothamstead are very similar to working in a University, it’s not detrimental to work there but it’s not that different a working environment or culture. At the other end of the scale working for someone like the World Health Organisation looks pretty good on your CV and I’m sure that is justified, it would be a good experience.
Question 2. If there aren’t links through your research do you want to try to create some?
Bionow would be a good route to find companies working in your research area. The University’s Business development team might also have contacts your supervisors aren’t aware of so it could be worth speaking to them.
The work a company does could differ a lot from the pure research you are doing so staying in the field may mean you end up doing something more different than if you look into other areas with other companies who have more of a R&D focus.
Question 3. Do you want to do something very different from your research project? If so why?
It is a great idea to try something quite different from what you are doing, it’s difficult to get the opportunity to do something that you can turn away from after three months and say good I’m glad I tried it and now I know, I’d like a career in that sector or no that’s not what I want out of my life.
Deciding what the different thing should be is a very difficult thing to do, talking to your careers advisors about exactly what it is you like and what you don’t like in your working environment will really help. We will talk a little more about this in the last session of the day.