The graduate scheme at the RSC allows you to work on a range of projects from day one. In my first four months here, I have managed to fit in everything from organising lectures to preparing articles to spending a day at Portcullis House in the Houses of Parliament.

During my first few months, alongside the other graduates on the scheme, I helped to organise a series of Policy Lectures linked to the top-ten challenges identified by the Chemistry for Tomorrow’s World Roadmap. As manager of the series, I was given responsibility of the overall organisation, including delegating tasks and managing the budget. As a team we’re in charge of everything from liaising with the speakers and the venue through to inviting audience members, designing the invitations and web pages and running things on the night. It’s been a good project that has involved working with staff from across the organisation and a great way to get to know everyone.

The most recent of these events, ‘Fundamental Science – Fundamental to Health’ took place in Edinburgh earlier this month. Both of the speakers, Prof Roger Tsien (Nobel Prize Laureate 2008, Chemistry) and Prof Anne Glover (Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland) delivered engaging talks on the importance of fundamental scientific research and the vital part that research must play in policy making. To find out more about forthcoming events in the Policy Lecture series, please follow this link: http://www.rsc.org/ConferencesAndEvents/RSCEvents/SciencePolicyEvents/Roadmap/index.asp

Mindy Dulai is a Graduate working in the Royal Society of Chemistry's Science, Education and Industry Department. To see if there are any current vacancies go to 'RSC: Latest Vacancies' Blog or subscribe to 'RSC: Latest Vacancies' by Email