Product Development Industrial Placement Student Review

The role has a good balance of both lab work and desk work. In the lab, I formulated product protypes and conducted periodic performance tests. Desk work included but not limited to researching academic papers, report writing, and preparing slides for team meetings. The day-to-day schedule is very flexible and you can fit in lab and desk work time where you see fit. There are opportunities to work from home 1-2 days a week which will vary from team to team.

From the beginning of placement, I was given responsibility and independence in the lab. I was inducted, and shown different lab processes, then, was allowed to work in the lab independently. As part of the industrial placement (IP) scheme, the IPs had the option to opt into a development team. I was placed in the mentoring development team where we were given the responsibility of hosting occasional calls throughout the year on topics such as insight into the Unilever Future Leaders Programme (UFLP) scheme, etc.

Throughout placement, I have developed mainly my independence and communication skills. At university, lab work was a fixed schedule and had more supervision during experimental work. At Unilever, I was given the opportunity to allocate my own lab time, and after the relevant safety training, I was allowed to work independently in the shared lab space. Aside from this, I have learnt to make my own decisions regarding my project where when something does not go right, I was able to have discussions with my team and propose my own ideas on how to go about problems. Both written and verbal communication were further developed during placement. My team held monthly team meetings which occasionally I would present any updates or findings. Alongside this, I had numerous opportunities to present through the mentoring development call series and to my university lecturers.

I felt welcomed by everyone at Unilever to ask whenever I needed help. I had more support during my first few days in the lab. After I felt comfortable and confident, I was able to work independently. However, I knew if I needed guidance, I was able to ask not only people in my team, but others outside of my team in the lab!

Unilever feels very inclusive and open. You often find people talking in the quad area on each floor in or in the main canteen on the ground floor. I felt very welcomed by my team and those around me. There are a few social groups such as sports / crocheting at lunch/ outside of work but aren't as well advertised.

The Unilever IP programme gave me insight into what life is like in industry compared to academia. I very much enjoyed my placement! I liked how I was able to see how the theory from my chemistry degree can be applied to real-world applications. Working at Unilever gave me insight into other career paths aside from the typical academia or pharmaceuticals pathway. I am grateful to have met lots of different students from different universities and to bonded with them throughout placement.

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