We asked some of our students and graduates to share their experiences of studying in the School of Biosciences, and to tell us what they've ended up doing with their degree.
Krizand Christine Vaz
BSc Genetics and Microbiology with Employment Experience
Whilst at Sheffield, Krizand spent a year completing a paid work placement at pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer as part of her degree. This experience helped Krizand to secure a place on Pfizer’s Future Leader's Graduate Programme working in the organisation's commercial business in marketing and sales.
Gurveena Kaur Sungha
Placement organisation: Microsoft
Gurveena chose to spend a year on placement at Microsoft. This confirmed her desire to work in a business setting and helped her to secure a second placement post graduation - working for a digital marketing agency in New York.
Samuel joined Hammersmith Medicines Research for his year in industry with the responsibility for the receipting, analysing, and storage of clinical samples.
Katherine Assersohn
Summer placement: researching the affect of rainfall on microclimates
Katherine spent last summer on the Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) scheme — a 6-8 week project that allows undergraduate students to conduct their own research.
Victoria Lund
BSc Biochemistry and Microbiology; PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
Victoria did both her undergraduate degree and her PhD at Sheffield, and is now a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Simon Foster’s lab. Sheffield’s research led teaching gave Victoria a taste for academia, and she plans to keep up her research and inspire future generations of scientists.
Maddy spent the second year of her biology degree studying at Oregon State University. While there, she explored beautiful forests and coastlines, skied on Oregon’s mountains, and immersed herself in the local culture.
Sarah Biggins
Degree: MBiolSci Biology with Placement Year
Between her second and third year at Sheffield, Sarah completed a placement at the university where she worked in Engagement and Communication. This placement gave Sarah the opportunity to network with various employers, and secured her a job within Strategic Planning Research upon graduation.
Eline Van Aalderink
Year abroad: University of Queensland, Australia
Eline spent the second year of her biology degree studying at the University of Queensland, Australia learning about the local and unique flora and fauna, studying marine biology, and travelling all over the country.
Adam moved from Slovakia to Sheffield to study Molecular Biology. Since graduating, he has worked in a number of business-related roles in Austria, Sweden and Eastern Europe, from start-ups to large corporations like Pfizer or Roche, and one day hopes to start his own business.