Industrial Placement Student Profiles
Sarah
"When I began applying for a placement, I became quickly aware that the majority of placements on offer were based in the pharmaceutical industry, so when I saw this placement advertised I knew it was the placement I had been waiting for!
"One of the good things about working at Dstl is the fact that there are plenty of opportunities to work on a variety of interesting things. I work within the Detection department, in the chemical detection research team. The work I have done so far has been in great variety, from supporting in-service military chemical detection equipment, to research based work and trial work.
"Doing this placement is giving me a real experience of life beyond a classroom and putting the theory into practice in the real world. Dstl isn’t all about work though! There are a lot of events that take place across the sites that encourage networking across the organisation, for example lunchtime seminars and site symposiums. Here you can get an idea of what is happening in other teams and departments across Dstl and interact with lots of people.
"There is also a great support scheme called STEPS (Scheme for Technical Events and Professional Support), which is ran for new starters by new starters. They provide a lot of opportunities that help new starters’ integrate into work. From socialising with other new members to military awareness visits/demonstrations, to conferences dedicated just for new starters. All these extras to the every day ‘job’ are making my experience on placement a really enjoyable one.
"I can confidently say that I feel like a valued member of the team here. If it wasn’t for the assignments I receive from university, I would say I feel like I have already graduated! This placement has really given me the drive to go back to university for my final year and really try my hardest. I look forward to graduating and I definitely want to continue my career within the MOD. It gives you a real buzz knowing your work is helping our troops and it’s really motivating to see the innovative work coming from within Dstl."
Harriet
"I started my 12 month placement within the Human Systems Group in September. Within three weeks of arriving, I was conducting my first physiological trial as part of a team of human factors scientists looking into Dismounted Close Combat Survivability. We were developing methods to test the physiological burden of different armour systems. The trial was undertaken in the environmentally controlled chamber facility located on the Dstl Porton site. Military volunteers undertook agility and physiological exercises in both hot and temperate climates. Within this I learnt a range of physiological techniques including: application of three lead Electrocardiograms (ECGs), application of skin and aural thermistors and recording core temperature using a radiopill system. Throughout the trial I was the person responsible for using the radiopill system – this involved setting up equipment and administering it to volunteers; observing and solving any problems that arose during recording and downloading and analysing data upon completion.
"Since then, I have been involved in supporting several other projects across the Human Systems group and have experienced a wide variety of work ranging from advisory work about the thermoregulatory issues involved in body armour whilst out in theatre through to entering data from a vibrations analysis.
"I have been trained in a variety of physiological measuring techniques – ranging from three, five and 12 lead ECG application, skin and aural temperature readings using thermistors, VO2 max testing, core temperature measurement using a radiopill system and measuring lung function using a vitalograph.
"My experiences at Dstl have enabled me to learn many new skills which I can use in my future career and education. I have been given opportunities to build on skills such as report writing and data analysis. I am currently writing the first draft of a report on a trial to assess the military acceptability of a transdermal patch for pre-treatment of nerve agent poisoning.
"I have encountered a wide variety of work whilst on placement at Dstl, during which I have gained a better understanding of the complexity involved within both defence and human sciences research, but most importantly of all, I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience."
Mikael
"I joined Dstl as a part of my sandwich year while studying for a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I have very much enjoyed my time here, as the work is always changing and very interesting.
“My work consists of carrying out vulnerability assessments of vehicles with a range of weapons. This comprises of building a target model using manufacture’s designs; there are also visits to examine the vehicles to verify equipment. The geometry is then run through a suit of programmes, which is used to give advice to the customers.
“The most exciting work occurred when an urgent response was needed. Within one day an overnight trip to Newcastle was planned and I found myself working over weekends to have the work completed as quickly as possible.
“Throughout my time here, I have been given a large amount of training, first of all with the computer graphics programme and then with the vulnerability and lethality assessment tool. I have also been fortunate enough to be able to go to New Starters’ Conference and I am planning to visit Westminster for Defence Questions later this month.
“Dstl has also shown an interest in giving me a project to complete in my final year of university and there may be a chance of sponsorship for my last two years for the work that I produce."
Harry
“As a student 6 months into a year placement, I have already been able to work on an exciting variety of projects within my department. A large part of this has been made up of simulating real-world electromagnetic propagation conditions in the laboratory, and research into optimising an in-service capability.
"My simulation objectives have been to characterise the propagation environment applicable to ground-based electronic countermeasures (ECMs) and to find a way to calculate the expected path loss. This will help provide an accurate gauge of the equipment performance before field trials are conducted, and also feed into the team’s efforts to automate ECM bench testing. This has helped me meet new people as I have pulled together related work from different areas of the department, and has involved everything from electromagnetic fundamentals right up to field testing.
"Optimisation research started out with devising a method and selecting a wide range of commercial devices to test against. I followed this work right through to analysing the data and finally submitting a technical report and letter to the customer detailing our findings. Being able to see the whole unit of work through from start to finish was very rewarding!
"In addition to my two main areas of work, I have been given the chance to take part in equipment field trials, assist with any high priority tasks, and contribute to several projects from different teams. Being able to experience work in so many different areas and have such a wide range of opportunities during my placement is something I don’t think I could have got anywhere else.”