After my PhD in Medicinal Chemistry for Cancer at Cambridge, I started at the RSC on the SEI Graduate Scheme and have been here for six months now. I'm currently in the Communication Team (2 months) and before that I was in International Development (4 months).
In Communications, I'm working on internal communication projects such as our internal newsletter
Cohesion, and external content like the
Annual Review and
RSC News. It's a fast pace environment, which is exciting! There's such a variety of projects and the team are gret to work with. Look out for the
Annual Review covering our activities in 2011 - it's going to be available as of June...
In International Development, I was heavily involved with our
Pan Africa Chemistry Network activities and got to travel to Ghana for the
1st Congress on Agricultural Productivity just one month in from starting here! This was to support the conference, which had delegates from all over the world. It was great to be on the organising side of a conference for a change and getting to know some of the high-profile speakers! It was the first time that I met our President, Professor David Phillips CBE, who is a real asset to the RSC and chemistry generally. If you ever get the chance to meet him, you should!
There is no guarentee that you will get to go abroad during the rotation but if the opportunity arises, I'd definitely recommend it. My trip was one of the most intense weeks I have ever had but certainly one of the most rewarding. It was such an eye opener to go to Ghana (my 1st trip to Africa), seeing first hand the environment that they work and live in. Malaria, cholera, poverty are some of the harsh realities that they have come to accept are part of their lives, but it shouldn't have to be like this.
The purpose of Societies such as the RSC is to disseminate information for the benefit of mankind. The work of international scientists, industralists and governing bodies all have their part to play in helping people in Africa and beyond. And, the
Science Team do a great job in bringing these people together and producing policy documents with recommendations on topics such as agricultural productivity and human health. Maybe I'll be rotated there next...?
Samantha 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
After my PhD in Medicinal Chemistry for Cancer at Cambridge, I started at the RSC on the SEI Graduate Scheme and have been here for six months now. I'm currently in the Communication Team (2 months) and before that I was in International Development (4 months).
