Industrial Placement student Review

I worked within the Unilever Professional team, supporting the formulation of home care products designed for professional use. My role covered three main projects across laundry, hand dishwash, and home and hygiene. In the home and hygiene project, I helped optimise formulations to deliver cost savings without compromising performance. For laundry, I designed and ran my own experiments to develop new lab methods aimed at suppressing foam generation. In hand dishwash, I worked closely with cross‑functional teams to support the development and validation of product claims for the Italian market.

During the first five to six months, I wasn’t given a huge amount of responsibility and spent more time learning and supporting ongoing work. As the placement progressed, I was given much more ownership and trusted to lead smaller projects independently. This made the second half of my placement more engaging and helped build my confidence.

I’ve learnt a lot about how a large corporate company operates day to day, as well as practical lab skills that aren’t typically covered at university. Throughout the placement, I also developed my communication skills, particularly when it came to explaining scientific ideas to people without a technical background. Working in different teams helped strengthen my teamwork and leadership skills, especially when taking ownership of smaller projects. I also grew in resilience and creativity, learning how to problem‑solve when experiments didn’t go as planned.

Throughout my placement, I received strong support and guidance from my team. At the start, there was a lot of hands‑on help and clear direction while I was learning the projects and ways of working. As I became more familiar with my role, this gradually shifted, and I was given more independence and responsibility. Even then, support was always available, but in a way that still challenged me and helped me develop.

Unilever has a really open and friendly culture, where people are happy to share ideas and help each other out. The atmosphere feels supportive rather than competitive, and it’s easy to approach colleagues at all levels. There’s a big focus on purpose and sustainability, which makes the work feel meaningful rather than just task‑driven. Overall, it’s a positive place to work where learning and personal development are genuinely encouraged. It also feels like a place where your input is valued, even as a placement student.

I really enjoyed my placement overall, as it gave me valuable hands‑on experience and a clear insight into what working in industry is actually like. I felt challenged in a positive way and supported by the people around me, which made the experience both enjoyable and rewarding. It also helped build my confidence and confirmed my interest in pursuing a similar role in the future.

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