Case Study - Richard Jones

Age: 21

Degree course and graduation year: BA/MSci Natural Sciences, St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge. Graduating in the summer of 2005.

Where did you do your placement?

The Innovation Relay Centre Network is an EU-funded project whereby SMEs around Europe are matched in terms of their innovative technology needs or capabilities in order that they might share their ideas, helping both parties and increasing the competitiveness of Europe as a whole. STEP International Placements comprise one week’s training at the East of England Innovation Relay Centre in St John’s Innovation Centre, Cambridge, followed by six weeks working with a host organisation (typically another Innovation Relay Centre) abroad, and finally a debrief in Cambridge. My host organisation was the Innovation Relay Centre in Tartu, Estonia. While in Estonia I was given the title of International Technology Transfer Task Manager.

What made you decide to do a placement in the first place?

I am doing a science degree and had previously done scientific research at a major British engineering company for summer work experience. I felt that the summer of 2004 was my last chance to acquire experience in a non-scientific area, thus broadening my CV and more importantly allowing me to make a more informed choice now that I am thinking about what type of job I would like for when I graduate.

How did you go about finding and securing your placement?

I applied to the central STEP programme online, and they matched my skills and interests to this placement. Because it was quite close to the start date when I applied, I was given a telephone interview.

What did the placement involve?

The training week in Cambridge involved learning about the Innovation Relay Centre Network, being taught how to use the Network’s technology database, and visiting some local companies in Cambridge who had technologies which were thought to be of particular interest to the countries we were visiting. In Estonia my work involved visiting local companies and the university faculty in order to profile their innovative technology developments and discuss how they might use the services of the Innovation Relay Centre Network as a route to finding partners abroad. I was given a supervisor who helped me to organise the meetings and follow them up, help me with the work more generally and also to ensure that things also worked out with my living arrangements, etc.

Do you feel you had enough tasks to complete and responsibility in your role?

Since I was allowed to visit the Centre’s clients alone from day one, I would say there was certainly enough responsibility. I felt welcome to take on additional responsibility as soon as I felt I was comfortable doing so, but on the other hand my supervisor was very helpful every time I felt like I wanted help or assurance. Perhaps because the emphasis of my work only really developed after I arrived in Estonia (I could have focused more on other aspects of the Innovation Relay Centre’s matchmaking process had I wished), there was a short spell fairly early on which was a little quiet. I had completed the tasks they initially had in mind and the tasks which led on from those took time to develop in the hands of the client companies. Later in the placement things really took off again and once I discovered more about the nuances of my role I pursued my own ideas about what I wanted to do.

What did the work experience make you feel about your career choices?

Because I was able to visit companies in a number of sectors I was able to see a number of different roles. In my case I came to realise that I really enjoyed this kind of client-facing activity where I was meeting new contacts on a daily basis and that for me, a job with the opportunity to work abroad in short stints would also be considered attractive.

What did you find the differences were between being a student and working?

Of course the hours were more fixed, and also there were many more occasions where I was required to get on with something which, as a student answering to myself, I may have put off.

Was the placement enjoyable?

Yes!

Were there any problems during the placement, and if so how did you overcome them?

No major ones. Because English is so widely spoken in Estonia as a second or third language I had hardly any language problems, for example. On the odd occasion where a bus driver or shop assistant didn’t speak English, one of the other customers would very quickly step in to help to translate.

What kind of skills did you develop (either through official training or just generally) and do you feel that these will be useful in your working life after university?

A main part of my work involved being able to learn about a technology which a company wanted to offer, synthesise the (often technical) information and present it in a way which was immediate to the staff of the Innovation Relay Centres and to potentially interested companies. This meant I had to be very aware of my audience and choose how to present the information very carefully. Organisational and time-management skills were important; especially when I was planning visits to companies. I also developed a lot of softer client-facing skills, since I was often allowed to represent the Centre unaccompanied.

How well do you feel you interacted with your colleagues at work? Did you find it difficult because they were older than you were or find that you did not have much in common with people?

I found the people in the office were very friendly, and those I had most contact with spoke excellent English. I found that I got on very well with them, both inside and outside of the office. Since I was living in university accommodation (sharing a flat with an Estonian, a Latvian and a Finn) I quickly discovered I had two groups of people I could socialise with.

Do you feel that your work experience was valuable?

I feel that the experience was extremely valuable, far more so even than if I had done equivalent work in the UK. Having not travelled abroad alone before, just the experience of having that successful trip and going through the process of living abroad will be a big confidence boost when I come to do it again in the future.

How has your work benefited the company, i.e. what kind of projects did you carry out and what kind of a contribution did they make to the company?

Through the course of my work I made a number of new contacts for the centre with the Faculty of the University, which is seeking partners to exploit its research. My science background meant that I was well placed to get an understanding of the benefits of their research and then translate this in a way, which would work well with the staff of the Innovation Relay Centre Network. This I essentially did by emphasising the benefits of the technology and the type of collaboration being sought and avoiding lengthy explanations of the science, which could be given later.