This programme includes an opportunity to spend a year working in industry between Stages 2 and 3 which greatly enhances a CV and presents an opportunity to apply academic skills in a practical context. Our placement students have spent a year in the working world but have re-joined us for their final year of study.
We were delighted to welcome back our 26 economics placement students at a breakfast meeting! All of them had a very challenging experience working during the global pandemic (some working entirely remotely and some through a hybrid scheme) for different companies and sectors such as, at the ONS, HM Treasury, DEFRA, Kimberly Clark, Vauxhall, Jaguar, BT, Mercedes, Accenture.
In the meantime there have been lots of changes at the University and in particular at the School of Economics while they were on placement, so this was a great opportunity to catch up with us and each other. It was great to hear what their time away has taught them.
‘All of them are back to finalise their studies with great enthusiasm and motivation.’ Director of Placement Dr Penelope Pacheco-Lopez, told us.
Following on from our welcome back session Kitty (back from a placement with Mercedes), Mihai (his placement with Motability) and Jack (a placement with the ONS) also very kindly joined our first Econ5360 Preparing for an Economics Placement lecture, where they discussed their experiences with our current stage 2 students and gave them helpful advice and guidance.
‘Choosing to spend a year of my degree as a Year in Industry was the best decision I have made.’ Kitty Cullinan told them ‘It has provided me with a clear idea of what I would like for my future and has given me a strong skill set to make the final year of my degree as successful as possible. It has also allowed me to gain hands-on experience that looks amazing on job applications while guiding my application decisions, dissertation and studies.’
‘The year in industry gave me the opportunity to apply theory to practice, and this provided me with a better perspective on what I want to do in my career.’ was Mihai Leola’s reflection.
‘Since returning to my studies, I have found that my work-load management has been far better.’ Jack explained ‘Prioritising and organising my work more effectively has allowed me to have a better work-life balance and meet my deadlines. I have also used many of skills I developed over my placement year, such as report writing, which has made my written assessments much easier to structure, and team-work, which has helped me in my seminar group work.’
You can find out about the Economics with Year in Industry degree here.