Why
did you choose your degree course?
I chose a course with a sandwich year, so I could find out whether
I enjoy working in the field of microbiology. Also, I felt that a
year's work experience would help with finding a job after university.
What got you interested in microbiology?
I found the microbiology modules at college really interesting.
It helped that the teacher was enthusiastic about biology and helped
us to understand some complex ideas about microbiology. I remember
one of the experiments at college in which some food was left at
room temperature for a week and after that time it was examined
to see what had grown. It was amazing to see the diversity of microbial
growth after just a week.
Why did you choose Oxoid for your industrial training?
I wanted an industrial placement rather than a hospital based
one. When the Oxoid placement was advertised, I did some background
research into the company and was impressed with the wide range
of products (culture media and diagnostic kits). I also noticed
that we used several of these in the university labs.
After this, I got in contact with the UWE student who had worked
at Oxoid before me and found that he was really enjoying it. I also
talked to some of the lab technicians at university. I decided it
would be a really good placement and applied.
What have you enjoyed most about the placement?
I have learned many new microbiological techniques and also
gained experience of immunological procedures including ELISA and
latex agglutination tests. It has also given me an insight into
industrial labs and how different they are from university ones.
Not only has the work so far been very enjoyable but I have made
some good friends.
What are your plans for the future?
I would like to pursue a research career, particularly one
that combines microbiology and molecular techniques. Although, I
am not sure at the moment whether I want to go straight into industry
or to do a PhD.
Do you have any advice for students thinking about applying
to university?
Make sure that you choose a subject that interests you and try
to select a course that enables you to obtain work experience. I
have made some life long friends from my course and I am really
enjoying it.
Other profiles:
medical microbiologist
industrial microbiologist
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