Students present benefits of industry placement

5 November 2012

Students returning from their placement year in the Department of Economics have been presenting posters detailing their experiences to staff and students at a departmental event.

The students were required to summarise their achievements and involvements with an organisation they spent a year working for.

The placement year is a popular option for students studying an economics degree; over 75 per cent choose to spend their third year working in industry.

Prizes were awarded to the students who created the best posters.

• First prize: Katherine Harris - placement at the Department of Energy & Climate Change in London
• Second prize: Katherine Rocker - placement at Dow Jones
• Third prize: Tom Nash - placement at HSBC in London

First prize winner Katherine Harris commented: “The placement year gave me a great opportunity to apply economics to the real world and it's made me more employable. It was good to have an interactive event like the poster event to pass on our experiences to other students.”

Professor Christos Ioannidis (Head of Department) also highly commended Michael Ide who undertook his placement at Church Commissioners in London, and Tobias Lewis-Donaldson for his placement at Kadale Consultants Ltd. in Malawi.

Scarlett Seager, West and Wales Student Recruitment Officer for PwC, also attended the event, providing students with more information about the benefits of taking a placement year. Speaking about the students who take the placement year, she commented: “It's wonderful to see students who are intelligent, motivated, and constantly developing their skills in commercial awareness. These are some of the things we look for in our people.”

Dr Bruce Morley (Undergraduate Admissions Tutor) also attended the event, commenting: “This first-rate event enables us to see the real benefits to students of undertaking a placement year. It is pleasing to see how so many of the students have managed to transfer their academic skills into a real industry environment.”

Further information

More information about the placements is available on the placement year page.