Postgraduate researchers at Royal Holloway who have been able to secure placements during their research degree have consistently reported how positive the experiences have been, providing them with the opportunity to develop a wealth of employability skills and invaluable networking links.
What can you gain from going on a placement?
Our postgraduate researchers who have had this opportunity report that placements:
- create opportunities for you to engage with non-academic audiences;
- encourage you to develop key skills in how to communicate successfully with those outside of their own area of expertise;
- help you to gain confidence in your own knowledge;
- provide an opportunity for you to gain a broader perspective on the skills you have to offer;
- help you to gain different perspectives on deadlines and target setting;
- enhance your networks and lead to collaborations and connections, some of which have led to future employment outside of academia.
Hear directly from some of our postgraduate researchers about their experience of doing a placement
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I’d absolutely encourage anyone thinking about doing a placement to go for it, and if you aren’t thinking about it maybe explore some options!
Cynthia Nkiruka Anyadi - PhD Geography
Read Cynthia's full account here
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From undertaking an internship with the British Antarctic Survey, I had the opportunity to gain skills that I would’ve otherwise not had time to learn during my PhD. For example, I learnt how to use R for data and statistical analysis, which I then applied to my PhD project to complement existing work and resolve specific challenges. Additionally, I made contacts from a wider circle of research institutes and other academic institutions with potential for future collaboration.
Charlotte Green - PhD Earth Science
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I gained a great deal from my recent placement to the Learning Department of the National Theatre. During my few months with the NT, I took the opportunity to chat with as many staff as possible and organised a meeting with the head of one department to further my post-PhD plans - a wonderful opportunity to gain expert advice and some future contacts and recommendations! It was a truly delightful challenge to use my skills to provide something original and exciting to the NT Learning Department - a new kind of learning guide to one their plays and, as they envisage it, the start of a whole new conception of their learning materials. They really enjoyed a new person coming in with fresh ideas and a unique portfolio of useful skills so the benefit of a placement definitely goes both ways. They've told me they'd like us to work together for some more and I'm waiting for the call...
Kate Ferry-Swainson - PhD French
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I did a placement at the British Library during the third year of doing a PhD in English. Not only was the project itself fulfilling but it also opened my eyes to the transferability between the academic and heritage industries. It broadened my understanding of the career options available to me and helped me to diversify my skillset. Consequently, I'm now able to apply for completely new kinds of opportunities across the heritage sector that I would never have previously considered.
Tim Moore - PhD English
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As part of my PhD in Economics I undertook a 9-month placement at the OECD’s Centre for Entrepreneurships, SMEs, Regions and Cities. This experience has been invaluable as I got the opportunity to work in a different area of Economics than the one I focus on in my studies and this allowed me to reflect about the career I want to pursue after my graduation – both in which area and type of institution. Through this placement, I further built on my quantitative skills, but also, had the chance to develop my communications and organisational skills as I had to collaborate with governmental and regional bodies across the OECD member-states.
Konstantina Boutsioukou - PhD Economics
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The opportunity to undertake a placement with Royal Holloway’s Centre for Victorian Studies has provided me with an invaluable research community and network. I have diversified my skill set to include managing budgets and organising academic events - from one off lectures to a week long residential colloquium - and I’ve been supported by the wonderful mentorship of RHUL English staff. As someone that studied their BA and MA at Royal Holloway, I was aware of the impact that the CVS has on the research culture in Victorian Studies (both within and well-beyond RHUL). I felt the benefits of the the centre so much in my earlier academic stages and I am so pleased that I have been able to contribute to it as a doctoral student.
Anya Eastman - PhD English
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