Each year a number of Medical Sciences undergraduate students go on placement for a year between their third and fourth year. The placement can be in a commercial company (industry) or an academic environment. The placement year allows the students to further develop their skills and knowledge in an applied setting, which facilitates their future employability. The placement also permits the students to graduate with an MSci (an undergraduate Masters degree), which is advantageous when applying for advanced educational studies (ie a PhD).
A key principle of the placement year is that it must involve an element of research. 36 MSci students have just returned from their placements. Their placements were located across the globe. The research topics varied considerable in scope, ranging from fundamental lab-based research to clinical trials. The students successfully completed their placements despite the Covid-19 outbreak. Indeed, a number of students have also published peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals. We would like to congratulate the students on these outstanding achievements. You can read more about these publications in their blogs that are to follow.
