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RSC Graduate Scheme

Ever wanted to know what we get up to on the RSC graduate scheme? In this blog, members of our graduate scheme describe some of the interesting (or unusual!) activities and projects they are working on, as well as what it is like to work in a variety of departments across the RSC.

Find out more about the RSC Graduate Scheme here
 

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Archive for February, 2016
Jamie - Membership Development

64eb00bb8b42879cb79285f7b4cdfdb2-huge-imWow! I can’t believe it’s already been almost six months since starting on the RSC grad scheme. The end of my first rotation in the Membership team is fast approaching and so far no two days have been the same!

One of my main roles since joining the RSC in September has been to attend conferences and visit universities in order to promote RSC membership to students and academic staff. I’ve really enjoyed going to different chemistry departments and having the opportunity to travel to Ireland and parts of the UK that I’d never seen before. Working in an outward-facing role, I’ve had so much fun meeting new people who work across different areas of the scientific community.

One great aspect of the grad scheme here at the RSC is that you are really encouraged to participate in as many different projects as you can. The work has been incredibly varied – aside from visiting universities, I’ve been able to write for Chemistry World, be involved with the inspiring 175 Faces of Chemistry project, help organise RSC stands for the Cambridge Science Festival and much more. Recently, I’ve also been heavily involved with running the ChemNet website for 14–18 year olds – this has been a fantastic opportunity to develop new skills in an area I hadn’t previously had a lot of experience in.

The best thing about working at the RSC is probably the people. There are a huge number of creative and inspiring people working across all of the different sections of the organisation. There’s always plenty of fun (and cake) to be had in the office. Outside of work, the Sports and Social Club organise a range of different activities, from squash leagues and 5-a-side football, to pub quizzes and the awesome fancy-dress Christmas party. It’s absolutely amazing working in such a fun, enthusiastic and motivating environment.

Next week I’ll start my second rotation, in the Strategic Partnerships team. I’ve absolutely loved my time in membership and I can’t wait to take on the new challenges that my next role will bring.
Jamie is a Graduate currently working in the Membership Team on the Royal Society of Chemistry's Graduate Scheme. To see if we are currently recruiting for the RSC Graduate Scheme click here
 
Posted by Jamie Durrani on Mar 1, 2016 3:49 PM GMT
Lizzy - Strategic Communications
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The very eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted me among these pages before, around 4 years ago when I was on what was then known as the Publishing Graduate Scheme. 

I came to the Royal Society of Chemistry through the Publishing route, knowing that I wanted a career in chemistry, but outside of the lab, and not really sure what that would look like.

After 3 years as a Publishing Editor, during which I gained lots of useful experience working with journals, I realised that I wanted to expand my understanding of what the RSC does, meet new people, and increase my skill set. So I applied for the RSC Graduate Scheme. I’m now nearing the end of my first placement, on the Strategic Communications team, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision.

Over the past 6 months I have written articles for RSC News, Cohesion (our internal newsletter), Chemistry World and Chemistry International. As part of the News and Media sub-team I have coordinated a mini media campaign to promote a competition called SET for Britain, which the RSC helps sponsor, and which brings early careers researchers to present their work in Parliament. As part of the coordination of this campaign, I was lucky enough to attend a meeting in Parliament, at Portcullis House, with the media reps from the other learned societies who are also sponsoring the event.

As part of my work on the News and Media team I was asked to try and promote articles from the RSC’s journals to a non-scientific audience. This led to me sending a press release on one of our articles to The Times, and I then had to explain the science behind the article to a journalist over the phone. This was both exciting and nerve-wracking, and a real test of how well I knew the research! And after all that it was really gratifying to see the story appear in print a few days later.

One of my biggest projects has been coordinating communications around the RSC’s 175th Anniversary, which is taking place this year (the actual date is 23rd Feb 2016). One of our activities involves asking our members and other chemists to give 175 minutes of their time to chemistry, and we’ve been encouraging this through a Twitter campaign. In order to keep the public interested, I’ve been gathering ideas for relevant tweets, such as suggestions for science festivals for people to attend, and articles about the chemistry behind pancakes!

Like all the grads, in September and October I drove and train-journeyed up and down the country visiting universities and signing up students for RSC membership. Particularly memorable was mine and Pip’s road trip to Bangor and Liverpool. It turns out that driving in Liverpool city centre is not for the faint-hearted! The recruitment visits were a great way to get to know the other grads, connect with students and their lecturers, and get a better grasp of the geography of the UK!

My next rotation will be in Membership, which should mean some more recruitment visits and travel. I’ll be incredibly sad to leave the Comms team – they’ve been so incredibly welcoming and I’ve learned so much from all of them – but I’m excited about what’s to come!

Lizzy is a Graduate currently working in the Strategic Communications Team on the Royal Society of Chemistry's Graduate Scheme. To see if we are currently recruiting for the RSC Graduate Scheme click here
 
Posted by Elisabeth Ratcliffe on Feb 22, 2016 1:53 PM GMT