Research during Industrial Placements and Years Abroad for STEM Students:

1. Research during Industrial Placements and Years Abroad for STEM Students: Structure, Benefits and Assessment School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh Philip J. Bailey, Director of Teaching Steven Henderson, Year Abroad Coordinator Simon Daff, Industrial Placements Coordinator

2. History of Industrial Placements and Years Abroad in the School of Chemistry • Introduced in 1995/6 • An optional 4th year of our 5 year MChemdegrees • 80 students for 2014/15 • Destinations around the world • The degrees ‘with Industrial Experience’ or ‘a Year Abroad’ are regarded as the “Flagship” degrees offered by the School • A Salters’ Institute Graduate Prize has been awarded to a returning placement student in each of the last 17 years – a unique record among UK universities

3. Reduced options for courses in final year • Shorter final year research project Degree Structures

4. Recruitment • Industrial Placement recruitment is competitive and involves company visits and interviews • Support from the School and Careers Service in preparing CVs and refining interview technique • Video/telephone interviews for overseas companies • Students seeking Year Abroad Exchanges are interviewed by the Year Abroad Coordinator and Director of Teaching

5. Online Recruitment Management System - OPUS • Freeware developed by the University of Ulster • Enables online management of the whole recruitment process

6. The core companies are the pharmaceutical and related companies which typically host 20% of the students • Consumer products companies (Unilever, P&G etc.) provide another substantial group Hosts and Locations – UK Industrial Placements

7. Overseas Industrial Placement Locations • European industry locations can be considered for students with the necessary language • Students work on a J-1 (Intern) visa in the USA

8. Year Abroad Locations • At least 2 students sent to the more ‘challenging’ locations • Exchange of students helps to develop research collaborations • The School negotiates exchange agreements directly with partner institutions • Students undertake a full year research project and derive many of the same benefits of an industrial placement, in addition to the cultural experience

9. Supervision • Industrial Placements: • Students carry out an individual research project or contribute to a team project occupying at least 50% of their time • More routine roles may also be included • The assigned Edinburgh supervisor visits the student twice during the year (typically November and end of placement) • Year Abroad: • Students join a research group supervised by an academic staff member at the host institution • The assigned Edinburgh supervisor visits the student once during the year (typically November)

10. Literature Survey/Project Plan to support the project • Online student-generated revision activities using ‘PeerWise’ • Oral Presentation/examination on the final report • Final Project Report Coursework

11. The Placement/Exchange year contributes 20% to degree program assessment • Both local host supervisor(s) and Edinburgh supervisor contribute to the assessment • Assessment is structured by a detailed criteria-based assessment form • This ensures consistency of assessment between supervisors with varying levels of expectation Assessment

12. Assessment Breakdown

13. Criteria-based Assessment Form

14. The Projects – Sarah Holiday • Sarah worked for Sasol (a South African fuel/chemicals company) at their European research centre in St. Andrews • She worked nano-scale catalysts for the Fischer-Tropsch process which converts CO/H2 mixtures to hydrocarbon fuels • Sarah was the School’s 14th consecutively successful candidate for a Salter’s Prize in 2011 • She is now working towards a PhD in inorganic chemistry at Imperial College, London

15. The Projects – Michael Rutherford • Michael (A Chemical Physics student) undertook his placement at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA • One of the largest research centres in the USA, the original location for the ‘Manhattan Project’ in the 1940s • Although a very wide variety of research in Chemistry, Physics and Biology is carried out at Los Alamos, Michael’s project was in the area of shock and detonation physics, rather appropriate for this location!

16. The Projects – Nicola Austin • Nicola took part in the exchange with NTU in Singapore • Her Semester 1 university project involved the synthesis of a range of novel metal complexes with potential applications in industrial catalysis • This was followed in Semester 2 by a period working with GSK in Singapore developing synthetic routes to key intermediates for the preparation of new drugs for a neurodegenerative disease • Nicola now works as a patent lawyer with a Japanese company in Tokyo which illustrates the ‘horizon broadening’ that can result from such international experiences

17. Personal Development Support • Students are encouraged to develop an ‘e-portfolio’ using Pebble-Pad to record, reflect, review, discuss and share their thoughts, feelings and achievements • The reflection process assists students in recognising the benefits to their employability • On their return, students participate in a ‘debrief’ workshop encouraging reflection through sharing their experiences with their peersfacilitated by the Careers service and an invited industrial employer

18. Benefits to Students • Generally students’ first experience of an extended period of research • The development of academic knowledge is generally project-specific; practical skills are more often highlighted by students • The most significant benefits are often in areas of personal development: confidence, maturity and self-awareness developed through their research experience • The realisation that they can apply their knowledge to research of value to a company in a professional environment provides a real boost to students’ confidence • Many highlight the placement/exchange as the most beneficial and enjoyable component of their degree

19. Benefits to Students • Real benefits in clarifying future choice of career • A chance to reflect and ‘take stock’ before returning to the final year • A salary for the Industrial Placement year, average £16500 • High percentage of students progress to PhDs: • Many students at the top of the class undertake placements & exchanges • The experience highlights the benefits of a PhD for their future career – the “Glass Ceiling” • Clear evidence that the international placements and exchanges broaden students’ horizons with respect to their career aspirations

20. School of Chemistry Questions?