Alma Hadzihasani - Summer STEM Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

The STEM placement students are sending us weekly blogs all about their experience in the world of work! 

Work experience is great and it provides students with many benefits whilst gaining skills and helping choose the right future career path for pupils. Having work experience on a Curriculum Vitae will make a person stand out to employers as they will notice they have motivation and a real passion for work. It will also help to boost a students confidence in themselves!

Week One

"This week I was introduced to my project on simulating revolutionary transistors composed of semiconducting nanowires, used for quantum computing at higher temperatures (temperatures higher than is currently possible). I was made familiar with the simulation program known as Silvaco, and I began to learn the language (2D and 3D) by going through examples. I carried out research on how transistors and semiconductors function, and modern industry processes. By the end of the week I had finished the 3D structure of the actual nano-wire, with correct dimensions/meshing/material, simulating it for different temperatures, fixing a variety of bugs."

Week Two

"This week I got to improve and explore my previously built nano-wire transistor simulation. I have been busy trying to solve unexpected problems (such as solution convergence errors) by researching and learning of different quantum models available in the program and whether they may be appropriate to my simulation. Learning some of the ideas of quantum models/equations and transportation has proved to be very interesting and thought-provoking. I have also expanded my knowledge on Silvaco syntax."

Week Three
"During week 3 I created more simulations in the interest of solving a simulation of the nano-wire transistor. This included various 2D structures, a range of quantum and low temperature models, and refined meshing. Through this I experienced more errors that required logical and systematic approaches to attempt to solve them. By the end of the week, and after many attempts, we concluded that using Atlas to simulate the nanowire transistor was not an appropriate method."

-Alma Hadzihasani 

Thomas Rates - Summer STEM Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

The STEM placement students are sending us weekly blogs all about their experience in the world of work! 

Work experience is great and it provides students with many benefits whilst gaining skills and helping choose the right future career path for pupils. Having work experience on a Curriculum Vitae will make a person stand out to employers as they will notice they have motivation and a real passion for work. It will also help to boost a students confidence in themselves!

Week One 

"My first week has been incredibly interesting. My project has been about the use of organic transistors as a way of converting AC power to DC, as organic materials can be ink jet printed. This week I have been learning how  to use simulating software to model components and I have also been doing research into the project, looking at various papers and websites to do so.Towards the end of the week I have had some success modelling an example from one of the papers. Next week I should be able to use this in a simulation circuit to see the efficiency of it, and see if there is anything that can be done to improve it. I have really enjoyed the project so far and I look forward to the remainder of it."

Week Two

"My second week has also been very good. This week I have been developing my simulation and working out some of the problems it has had. I have also been looking more closely into how my component will behave in a circuit and trying to simulate this as well.

During this week I have also modeled a real circuit on a bread board to see the outputs of it. This will carry on into next week taking measurements to see what values I should be expecting and to generally get hands on experience with what I will be trying to simulate.

This week has been interesting and has been very productive in setting me up for running simulations and experiments next week."

Week Three

"My third week was very productive. I have worked on simulating my component in a circuit and seeing how it behaves. This has given me very interesting results that will end up going into my final report.

 I also took measurements from the circuit I created on a bread board, to see how it changes AC to DC power and how this can be optimised. Although this was not my component, it was close enough to achieve very good results, and works well as a proof of what I’m doing. 

My project is close to an end now and my results have been very promising and I am looking forward to seeing its conclusion."

- Thomas Rates 

Elliott Myers - Summer STEM Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

The STEM placement students are sending us weekly blogs all about their experience in the world of work! 

Work experience is great and it provides students with many benefits whilst gaining skills and helping choose the right future career path for pupils. Having work experience on a Curriculum Vitae will make a person stand out to employers as they will notice they have motivation and a real passion for work. It will also help to boost a students confidence in themselves!

See how Elliott is getting on with his STEM Placement!

Week one

"On Monday, I learnt how to factorise and solve complex quadratic and cubic expressions, also learning how to use "Maple" a mathematical problem solving system. On Tuesday, I learnt a method of completing the cube similar to completing the square, and conducted some of my own research into Group Theory. On Wednesday, I participated in a couple of lectures on modulus functions and RSA. On Thursday and Friday, I wrote a report on the modulus function and proposed an idea and question for my research the following week."           

Week two

"I started this week by researching into a way of combining a symmetric group with RSA encryption to create a secure encryption method. This then furthered my interest into permutations of sets, looking at a way of ordering all permutations of a set, with a method that could be successfully used by anyone. This then changed to looking at this method numerically, finding the difference between permutations as a sequence, which produced interesting graphical results with clear patterns." 

Week three 

"For my last week I have focused on writing up my report and my poster for SATRO. I have managed to condense my ideas into a logical document, which draws conclusions from all my encryption methods. This placement has really opened my eyes to the world of scientific world, helping me understand the concepts behind abstract mathematics that I have never come across before. I would like to thank all the members of the maths department at Surrey University and the staff at SATRO for this opportunity."

                         - Elliott Myers

What is it like working for McLaren Automotive? Chase Beswick tells all...

Name: Chase Beswick 

Works for: McLaren Automotive 

Job Title: Data Integration Lead

What attracted you to the job? 

The reputation which McLaren Automotive has a world leader in technology and performance, as well as the drive and passion everyone within the company clearly has. 

What does your typical day involve? 

Day to day activities can vary considerably. My day can involve assisting the business in releasing components, to supporting the design, development and launch of new car programs, to running upload programs to load large volumes of data when the business is particularly busy with engineering changes. 

No single day is the same which helps keep me motivated - because I never know what challenge will be next. 

What gives you the most job satisfaction? 

The role I currently have within the business touches on all areas of the business. This means that I am fortunate enough to have a good understanding of the dynamics and interactions between each business area. For me, I get the most job satisfaction seeing the dynamics and interactions between each business area improve based on improvements we have made. This ultimately results in us working together better to improve the amazing products we produce. 

What do your friends and family think about your job? 

The idea of working for McLaren is a dream job when I speak to most people, whether they are friends and family, or simply someone I meet for the first time where the conversation arises. This is because of the reputation the company has globally as being the best at what we do. 

Once anyone realises where I work, inevitably they have a load of questions to ask about what we do and what new projects we may have coming up. Unfortunately, due to the sensitive nature of the work we do, what I can say or tell them is very limited. 

How did you get where you are today? 

I left school with no more than GCSE's for qualifications. After this, I signed up to an employment agency to try and find work and earn a living. 

The first few jobs they found for me were very basic jobs with not much of a future, so I kept ringing the agency asking for anything else they had to offer. Fortunately, one day they mentioned they had a job as a general labourer at the McLaren 'Paragon' building site where they were finishing the McLaren Technology Centre building. My role was to clean up the building site whilst the builders finished their work. 

Whilst working on the building site, I worked alongside the paint shop team who had moved in early, as McLaren Automotive did not have their own paint shop yet. As I worked alongside them, I asked their manager at the time if I could work for him as a Paint Shop Junior. As he had seen my work ethic, he took me on to work for his team. 

Working within the paint team, I was keen to carry on with my education, as I could see the potential which was staring me in the face with my new-found career. Eventually, the company offered employees the opportunity to sign up for a foundation degree which could be run at the local college - Brooklands. I signed up for the course and after 4 years of evening lessons, finally managed to secure a foundation degree in Performance Road Car Technology. 

However, this made me want to progress further in my education, so I asked my Director if the company could support me to convert my foundation degree to a full degree. After some deliberation with the rest of the Directors, he agreed and I enrolled on the Computer Aided Mechanical Engineering course run by Oxford Brookes University and after a further 2 years of day release studying, I managed to successfully secure my full honours degree. Interestingly, for my dissertation, I designed the paint fixtures that were used to paint the panels of our first McLaren only road car - the MP4-12C. Pictures of these paint fixtures can be seen widely on the internet when images of the McLaren Automotive paint facility are shown. 

With my new qualifications, I began exploring the opportunity of putting the new skills into practice and was placed on secondment as a Quality Engineer. This then evolved for me to become a Quality and Manufacturing Engineer, then on to Data Reconciliation Lead for a new project the business ran to move on to a more stable software package for the business called SAP. It is that role which eventually led to me being Data Integration Lead for the business, once the project completed and the business was fully up and running on the new software. That is the role which I currently have within the business. 

Did the subjects you studied after the age of 16 prove useful in the job you are doing now?/any subjects you wish you'd studied? 

Each of the subjects I studied at the age of 16 have helped in some way or another. Whether it be something which relates directly to what I do today (such as IT), to something which does not directly relate to what I am doing today (such as Geography). I say this because the subjects which relate directly to what I do obviously help me better understand what I do day to day, whilst the other subjects which do not directly relate to what I do taught me other life skills such as how to manage my time and priorotise several tasks which need my time and attention. 

In retrospect, there are no subjects which I wish I had or hadn't studied, because they have all been useful in their own right, and have allowed me to progress in to a career I am very happy with. 

What advice would you give to someone thinking of following in your path? 

The key advice I would give is to remember to face all challenges with a keen and positive outlook, as these are traits that people look for and invest in. There have been a number of times where I have felt like I would not achieve anything substantial, but through putting my head down, getting the job done and showing a desire to progress, fortunately I have managed to achieve more than I could have imagined. 

How well is your job compensated? What is the starting salary for someone in your field and how much this can be expected to rise? 

The starting salary within Data related jobs is normally around £25,000, and this can rise to as much as £60,000 or higher depending on the amount of experience you have and how specialised your skill set is. 

What out of office hours pursuits light your fire? What kind of hobbies or extracurricular activities do you have? 

I play golf during the weekends (sometimes during the week when the days are longer!). I am also a STEM Ambassador and like to attend events which encourage young talent into STEM subjects. I was fortunate enough to tell the story of my career as a guest speaker at the 2016 SATRO STEMX awards ceremony which I find extremely awarding. 

James Nicholls - SATRO Summer Research Placement - University of Surrey Cyber Security Centre

James Nicholls from Reigate College is the first of our Year 12 students to begin a SATRO Summer Research Placement. He will be spending 4 weeks at the University of Surrey Cyber Security Centre and will look at implementing cryptographic algorithms used between contactless cards and contactless readers. Here is what James has to say about his first week! 

"The first week of the research placement has been fantastic. This placement has allowed me to greatly improve my knowledge of an important subject that is relevant to day-to-day life as well as my future aspirations at university. My supervisor has provided me with lots of necessary information and equipment to enhance my research capabilities and has given me support when I find myself struggling with a particular topic. I'm looking forward to continuing my research in the next few weeks."
                                                                                                                                             - James Nicholls

Volunteers Week - 1st June - 7th June 2017 - Why do you volunteer for SATRO?

Here at SATRO, we owe a huge thank you to our volunteers. They are vital to us and we certainly couldn’t do what we do without them! SATRO has over 900 active volunteers. We know it is important that volunteers feel valued and that their employers know their staff have had a productive and positive experience with us. Many of our volunteers sign up so they can ‘make a difference’ to young people and are frequently surprised by how much they have learnt from the experience themselves. Let’s see what some of our volunteers have to say about why they volunteer for SATRO!

"As a retired engineer and STEM Ambassador, I believe it's important to offer back some of my experience to help encourage the next generation. I have seen some amazing results and ideas from students at SATRO events ans always hope that an interest for careers in Science and Engineering is ignited. 

Our science and engineering is world-class, exciting and globally successful. Having the opportunity to convey my enthusiasm on behalf of SATRO gives me great pleasure." - John Faulkner, SATRO Volunteer 

"My careers advice and guidance during education was extremely poor, and apart from anything else, I struggled to obtain meaningful qualifications. I feel I have been very fortunate to successfully progress in my career within the construction industry and have exceeded all of my expectations... not that I really had any! There seemed very little choice in careers when I left school and I feel there are more opportunities these days. Most of my volunteering involves engaging with students who are uncertain of their future and therefor I have the opportunity to offer guidance based on my experience. 

SATRO does what it says on the tin "inspiring young people" so this sits nicely with my beliefs. SATRO is well organised and has a team, associates and volunteers that hold a common goal. Every event is enjoyable and I have made many friends. I must add that my employer, Willmott Dixon, supports social engagement and allows me to volunteer without any questions." - Gordon Bell, Willmott Dixon 

"My 7 year old son came home from school one day saying a girl in his class told him that her mum has said I couldn't be an engineer as I am a woman. In 2002, really? 

I volunteer for SATRO as I enjoy bringing what fun I have had in engineering career to schools. I want to help make engineering attractive and at least a career option girls would consider by using whatever skills and enthusiasm I have. Perhaps I can make a difference to one child." - Rachel Kornberg, SATRO Volunteer

"I wanted the opportunity to contribute to the community and what better way is there than helping kids achieve their full potential. I am grateful to SATRO for the platform to enable me to do this. They organise everything and all I have to do is turn up and do my thing. As a firm believer that "Knowledge is King" I get a tremendous buzz from interacting with a child who is willing to listen and eager to learn. More importantly, SATRO events offer us the opportunity to help those kids who perhaps lack the necessary encouragement elsewhere in their lives." - Jude Edwardes, SATRO Volunteer 


"Knowing the rewards and satisfaction of a career in engineering, I have been motivated to encourage students to find out more about the way in which science and engineering affect our lives. SATRO offers a range of projects - Primary science, Problem Solving Challenges , Business Games amongst others which are fun to deliver can be seen to have an effect." - Peter Bullock, SATRO Volunteer

“Volunteering for me is about giving something back to my community in a way that helps the next generation to learn more about the wide variety of opportunities there are for them.” - Shash Patel, SATRO Volunteer 

SATRO Work Placements 2015 & 2016 - Bursary Student Progression

These students were all on 4 week bursary placements over the summer of 2015/2016 whilst they were in Year 12.  We are pleased to share with you their A level results and what they are doing now. We provide bursaries to disadvantaged students to provide them with the opportunity to participate in a highly competitive scheme run by SATRO with targets under-represented groups.The programme provides a meaningful pathway for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths students to gain an insight into the working world to encourage them to continue their studies at university. 

2015 

"I'm now studying BSc Biochemistry with a placement year at the University of Bath which I'm loving so far. The placement I did with SATRO played a huge part in my decision to study biochemistry. It also made up quite a lot of my UCAS personal statement and I received offers from 5/5 of the universities I applied to. The placement got me very interested in lab work and offered me a taster into Genetics which I'm now studying lots of. I also learnt a lot about scientific report writing which has helped me in writing my lab reports. It was an amazing experience and please pass on my thanks to my funder; I could not have done this placement without financial support." - Siham Abdullahi

"I'm currently studying medicine at St George's, University of London. I got 3 As in chemistry, maths and biology A-level and an A* in EPQ. The placement I feel helped massively during my medical school interviews and application! My SATRO placement was a key placement I would always bring up and be questioned on during interviews and the topic I did is very relevant to my current studies! I did research on cardiology during my placement and that has actually given me a solid understanding of the cardiovascular system which I am currently studying in a deeper degree at university. Overall, I am very grateful for the placement as it did help a lot with my university application!" - Ameera Cajucom


2016 

"I currently study Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Physics with the hope to study Biomedical Science when I go to university. For a career, I would love to be involved in research especially either for drugs or genetics. I decided to apply for a placement with SATRO as it was not only a research focused assignment, it also gave me to opportunity to complete a CREST award with their support.  I was excited to find out that I had been selected and was told that my placement would be with the University of Surrey working with their Nutritional Sciences department. In the first week I was set preliminary research to familiarise myself with my project: the effect of weight on Vitamin D levels. As well as the research I was also helping my mentor with her work too which showed me how my research was relevant and how it was progressing in a real life context. My mentor gave me a data set that some student had collected so I picked out the variables I wanted and then produced graphs to analyse.

I was a great opportunity and something that I will definitely mention when applying to university. During the placement I had access to many resources such as their library, scientific journals and talking to scientists and PhD students. The experience benefitted me as I had real life application of the work that I do in school which will prepare me for the future." - Jaimee Kerven