ADEY: Work Shadowing

Through the Employability Points Scheme, Kelvin Baffour Anrkah (School of Bioscience) gained the opportunity to undertake a 5-day work shadowing placement with ADEY, an industry leading manufacture of magnetic filters for the maintenance of central heating systems.

Based at Kent Science Park in Sittingbourne, Kelvin was given the chance to gain first-hand experience of working in the lab:

“I would not say the idea of me working in the ADEY lab at first was not terrifying due to the sudden change of scenery from the University lab to a company lab. In spite of all these questioning about how I would cope, I was surprisingly welcomed with open arms on my first day at the lab which strengthened my hope and eliminated any fears of not being able to fit in into the workspace.”

During the experience, Kelvin was introduced to safety procedures, undertake water tests and gain experience in using apparatus such as a ICP machine (for testing amount of metals in the water samples). Kelvin also gained some experience in the pathology and microbiology labs and gain the chance to use a Gallery Plus Colorimetric Analyser; where he did tests on water samples from companies and hospitals for their pH, sulphate ions, chloride ions, ammonium, conductivity, alkalinity, and hardness.

Reflecting on the 5-days, Kelvin stated:

“In a nutshell, my overall experience with the ADEY Innovation Ltd was exceptional and beyond my expectation of how the real world of working as a lab scientist looks like. All I can say to other students is to strive hard and use their employability reward wisely…This glimpse of working as a lab shadow at ADEY was surely a plus to my career path and a big thank you to the University for providing its students with such opportunities across all sectors.”