Department of Chemistry hosts Industry Day
The Department’s annual Industry Day was a chance to celebrate the achievements of returning Professional Training placement students and build relationships with industrial partners.
The Industry Day took place on 5 October and welcomed over 70 invited guests including returning students, their placement supervisors from external companies, and academic staff. Also attending were first and second year chemistry students who got the chance to find out more about Professional Training from students with first-hand experience.
The companies represented were AkzoNobel, Analytical Services International, AWE, British Geological Survey, Cefas (the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science), Church and Dwight, GSK, Intelligent Fingerprinting, LGC, Peptide Protein Research, PerkinElmer, Sanofi, Symphony Environmental Ltd, Syngenta, TATA Global Beverages, Thames Water and Tomlinscote School.
During the day, returning students gave presentations and posters about their experiences on placement, with prizes given for the best poster and oral presentations, sponsored by the Society of Chemical Industry. Three companies also gave talks about what it’s like to do a Professional Training placement within their organisation, and the graduate employment opportunities they offer.
Adam Lewis (Team Leader of Harmful Algal Biotoxins at Cefas) who attended the Industry Day, said: “We find that placement students are able to bring a lot of enthusiasm to our team and, once they’ve found their feet, contribute to the outputs of the organisation, delivering critical food safety science in a timely fashion. Surrey students consistently bring a high standard of professionalism and ability to our placements, becoming integral members of the team and delivering both statutory testing and research goals while in post.”
Dr Carol Crean, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, said: “The training opportunities available for our students with these industrial partners are second to none. Exposure to the commercial world where timely delivery is expected has a transformational impact on students’ confidence, ability to deliver and ultimately their employability. Indeed many students return from placement to final year with offers of graduate employment from their placement company.”
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