More and more students are seeing the advantages of a Year in Industry - work placements taken as part of a degree that provide valuable skills and experience, strengthen PhD applications, and enhance career prospects.
Each year, the Earlham Institute invites two undergraduate students to participate in our Year in Industry programme.
For some of them, it will provide valuable experience for their future careers - some of our former students have become research assistants, software testing engineers, clinical trials data programmers, and biotechnology engineers.
For others, it can kindle a love of research and set them on the path to pursue a PhD.
Now PhD student, Santa Walker, during her Year in Industry placement
At the Earlham Institute, our new Year in Industry students have the opportunity to meet different groups and explore a range of potential projects before they settle on one for their placement.
The projects on offer could range from purely computational data analysis to laboratory work, including experimental design, protocol optimisation, and data analysis.
Many degrees incorporate a year in industry, giving undergraduates the chance to spend nine to 12 months – typically between the second and third years of study - in a paid, full-time work placement.
Santa Walker took an MSci in Biotechnology from the University of Aberdeen. She spent her Year in Industry at the Earlham Institute, exploring resistance gene durability and population structure in wild seabeet with the Neil Hall Group.
This month she is returning to the same group to begin her PhD - investigating metabolic diversity in Euglena using comparative and functional genomic methods.
“My Year in Industry was the highlight of my entire degree in terms of both enjoyment and learning,” she says. “It was the turning point in my decision to pursue a PhD.
“It’s such a unique opportunity - not only to gain practical, hands-on experience, but also to get a taste of real-world science outside the university lecture theatre.
“The supportive culture within the Earlham Institute was a huge factor in the decision to return here for my PhD – the number one piece of advice I was given was to find a PhD in an environment and lab group where you can feel happy and supported.
“After my Year in Industry, I know first-hand this is the case here.”
Santa presenting her final work as a Year in Industry student
She says she would recommend the Earlham Institute to anyone considering a Year in Industry placement.
“The structure of the placement - pursuing your own research projects - means you can choose from a fascinating array of topics available across the Institute’s research groups.
“And the breadth of research, training, and world-class facilities - at the Earlham Institute and across the NRP - combined with the uniquely friendly and supportive environment make it an incredible place to learn and grow, both personally and professionally.”
PhD student Jess Peers
Jess Peers decided to apply for a PhD at the Earlham Institute after completing her Year in Industry placement investigating the genetic diversity and divergence of the ash dieback pathogen with Dr Mark McMullan in the Neil Hall Group.
“The majority of the Year In Industry placements I saw were with pharmaceutical companies, which I was not interested in,” she says. “The Earlham Institute’s work is much closer to my interests in bioinformatics and population genetics.”
Jess took an integrated Master’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Birmingham. She is now in her fourth year as a PhD student in the Haerty Group, investigating the effects of reduced population size and inbreeding on non-coding regions of mammal genomes.
“The Year In Industry is great preparation for a PhD - my placement gave me a head start,” she says. “I saw how research works first hand and knew I wanted to do it.
“I was able to try out methods and work with researchers. Bioinformatics came to life in a way I was not experiencing in my university classes.”
She adds that a Year in Industry placement is a useful career step whether a student is planning a PhD or not.
“If you’re thinking about a PhD, a Year in Industry is a great way to try out whether research suits you before committing to a four-year programme of study.”
The Year In Industry is great preparation for a PhD - my placement gave me a head start, I saw how research works first hand and knew I wanted to do it.
Dr Emily Angiolini is Head of Advanced Training and coordinates the Year in Industry programme for the Institute.
“The Earlham Institute is a welcoming and culturally diverse environment, and lots of our staff have followed non-traditional paths,” she says.
“We offer a cross-disciplinary environment, giving successful applicants the chance to work across multidisciplinary teams and the chance to try out lots of different things, rather than being restricted to a small team.
“Our Year in Industry students are able to explore new techniques in a relatively risk-free setting, learning from diverse career paths - not just in research, but in teams overseeing business development and science communication.”
Emily says students from a wide range of degree programmes - biological sciences, natural sciences, biochemistry, computer science and mathematics, - would be eligible.
“The majority of applications come from students in a biological or natural sciences discipline, but it isn’t limited to that,” she says.
“Anyone with a relevant interest - computational scientists looking for an applied research project, for example, or mathematicians interested in modelling population genomics - is welcome to apply.”
Our Year in Industry students are able to explore new techniques in a relatively risk free environment, learning from diverse career paths - not just in research, but in teams like business development and science communication.
Applications are open to UK undergraduate students enrolled in a degree programme with a placement year.
The Institute particularly encourages applications from students enrolled in an integrated Masters with industrial placement in final year.
The Earlham Institute is on the Norwich Research Park, which is home to three other research institutes - the John Innes Centre, Quadram Institute, and The Sainsbury Laboratory - as well as the University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust .
The Institute has a diverse portfolio of cutting-edge life science research and boasts advanced laboratories for genome sequencing, single-cell analysis, engineering biology, and large-scale automation.
To apply, visit our webpage for application information and email yii@earlham.ac.uk.
