Meet our summer work experience students

Last week we were pleased to welcome two work experience students to our Godalming office. Morgan, who completed his A levels in Maths, Physics and Biology last year and is currently taking a gap year before starting at Newcastle University in September, and Amy, who has just finished the first year of her A levels at Godalming College and is going into her second year in September studying Biology, Chemistry and Maths.

We always enjoy hosting students who are curious about engineering and life sciences, and both Morgan and Amy took to the week with real enthusiasm. They spent time across our departments, met colleagues from different disciplines and contributed to live project work. Each was given a research project brief to work on through the week, and both rounded things off by presenting their findings to staff – Morgan on the mechanics of Flange Bolting, and Amy on understanding how an mRNA vaccine is manufactured. We’re grateful to everyone who gave up their time to support them, and we wish them both well with whatever comes next.

Here is what Morgan and Amy had to say about their week.

Morgan’s week

Before starting my work experience at Scitech-EKIUM, I wanted to gain a better understanding of how engineering is applied in a professional environment and develop my knowledge of the industry. I was particularly interested in seeing how engineers solve real-world problems, work with different disciplines, and contribute to live projects.

During my week, I was tasked with researching and documenting the required bolt torque for a live engineering project. I found this work both interesting and rewarding, as it gave me valuable insight into the practical application of engineering principles and allowed me to contribute to a meaningful project.

I also had the opportunity to speak with members of different departments and learn about a range of past and current projects, which gave me a broader understanding of the company’s niche field and the challenges it addresses.

Everyone I met was welcoming and willing to share their knowledge, which created a positive working environment and made the experience enjoyable. Overall, the placement increased my understanding of the engineering profession and confirmed my interest in pursuing a career in the field.

Amy’s week

Over the 5 days that I spent at Scitech-EKIUM, I feel that I grasped a great understanding of the company by getting introductions into each of the departments from the architecture to the CAD to the mechanical engineering department, which I really enjoyed. Nevertheless, for me, the most valuable experience was working on my research project about manufacturing mRNA vaccines due to my keen interest in life sciences, particularly biomedical science.

On my first day, I arrived at the office slightly nervous but mostly excited. I was immediately embraced by a very welcoming and friendly environment, which remained unchanged throughout the week, making me feel very supported and comfortable. I was assigned a desk with the processing department, where I completed my project. I felt the atmosphere of the office offered an affable and convivial experience and highly available guidance, whether it was from someone in the office or on teams.

My project brief was to understand how an mRNA vaccine is manufactured, what equipment and engineering is involved and the challenges of producing it safely and at scale. This allowed me to gain an incredible amount of knowledge about mRNA vaccines, which was very fascinating, and apply what I learnt from a process engineer’s perspective. For the end of the week, my challenge was to give a presentation on my findings to a large group of people. Personally, the idea of this was daunting and I was definitely out of my comfort zone; however, I am very proud of myself for being able to do this, allowing me to improve on my public speaking skills and confidence.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience, and I am very grateful for the opportunity and those who supported me whilst I was there. I received valuable advice from speaking to various people in the office, particularly my supervisors. Additionally, I have attained a greater passion for wanting to pursue biomedical science as I found researching into how mRNA vaccines work and are manufactured and the lipid nanoparticle delivery system extremely exciting and the most captivating part.

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