Nuffield Research Placements

During the summer holiday, two current Year 13 students, Paris Curling and Jasreet Kaur completed an extended work experience placement through the Nuffield Foundation. The opportunity was offered to the students after they attended a presentation held in the school, completed an application form, attended an interview at Coventry University and then researched and contacted the academic lead in their chosen area to secure a placement.

Both students also recently took part in the “Nuffield Celebration” event where posters of the work they had completed while on their placement were on display and they were presented with their certificates of the placement by the Dean of Coventry University.

Read about their experiences.

Paris’s story.

“I conducted my Nuffield Research Placement at the University of Birmingham in the Biomedical Engineering laboratory over a four week period in the summer holidays. Overall, it was a very enjoyable and eye opening experience and gave me a real insight into what a career in this industry would be like; as well as giving me a first-hand experience into university life. I was able to work alongside a team of Biomedical Engineers and work on a project with their help and guidance. This placement was definitely very rewarding and beneficial as not only did it provide me the insight I needed but it will also allow me to stand out from the crowd when applying to universities or for apprenticeship schemes and will look great on my personal statement, CV or an application form”

Jasreet’s experience

“My Nuffield Research Placement took place with JLR at Warwick University for six weeks. My project was to map the key players looking at replacement technologies for Lithium-ion batteries. I had to see what types of materials these companies were investing money in as well as what their main areas of research. I had mainly focused on Lithium-ion and Sodium-ion batteries as these are the two main materials under development. By doing this project, my ultimate aim was to ensure I had gathered enough information about my two chosen materials. In addition to this I had to ensure I had researched enough information about the companies carrying this out.

I gained many benefits from this placement, one of them being a more in- depth understanding of the different careers in engineering. Another benefit is that I have an extra six weeks work experience under my belt; which is extremely valuable”

Comment from Dr Green

To secure a place on the Nuffield Placements is difficult because the application process is very competitive as the scheme is held in high regards by universities when reviewing UCAS applications. Paris and Jasreet should be congratulated on their successful applications and the impact they have made with their projects. Due to the high standard of their final reports and presentations, both secured the Gold Crest Award. They have acted as excellent ambassadors for Sandwell Academy.