Connecting University of Liverpool Postgraduate Researchers with Industry

Posted on: 23 October 2020 in Graduate stories

The LDC placement scheme provides employers with the opportunity to host a postgraduate researcher on a 15-day placement at no cost to their organisation.

Employers benefit from the excellent research and analytical skills, critical thinking and fresh perspectives that a postgraduate researcher can bring to any organisation. Placements are fully funded by the University and we can assist you in developing the placement project and with the recruitment of a researcher. 

Postgraduate researcher Roberto recently completed a placement with Crowberry Consulting, supporting an on-going project focussed on low carbon technologies for sustainable energy management. You can read about Roberto’s experience and the comments of Mary Toal (placement host at Crowberry Consulting) below. 

“The PGR placement programme offers a unique and valuable opportunity to work with intelligent and creative University of Liverpool PhD students. We have supported this programme for several years and been able to host international postgraduates on various projects which support our overall business goals and customers. The insights and ideas that the PGR placements bring have been invaluable to us, a fresh perspective, international outlook and bright minds are wonderful to bring to any business. 

 During the current COVID19 crises, it is entirely feasible to host a PhD student using remote technologies, such as MS TEAMS/Zoom and to provide the opportunity to work with a University of Liverpool PGR. It is also essential at this time to focus on your business talent management pipeline, succession planning and development of your staff.  

The PGR programme has also supported us with our diversity and inclusion policies by bringing into the team a genuine international focus by hosting PhD students from Zambia and Mexico, something that we do not believe would have been possible without the support of the University of Liverpool team. In summary, for any business that is looking for targeted support from a bright talented postgraduate we can highly recommend the PGR programme.” 

Becky Toal, Managing Director of Crowberry Consulting Ltd. 

“Doing a placement during my PhD was a great way for me to adapt some of the knowledge I am gaining through my research in to real-life scenarios and specifically, commercial settings. I learned how I could apply some of the tools and methods I am using to write a dissertation to a business model that generates added value to a company. I was also able to incorporate some of the things I learnt to do during my placement to my university work, being a great opportunity for me to diversify and get a more holistic development during my studies. 

The placement also opened my eyes to new career opportunities that are out there. It showed me that doing research can be done outside of an academic environment, and that companies are open and willing to pay you for your ideas, which for me was a remarkable realization.  

It also helped me see how sustainability jobs in the UK are looking to modify the business-as-usual way that companies operate, and it gave me a lot of insight into how things can be done in a cross-industry manner, delivering a better and more complete result, both for the company and for the employee.”  

Roberto Cruz Juarez, University of Liverpool Architecture PhD Candidate 

If you’re interested in hosting a researcher or have any questions regarding the scheme, please visit the LDC placement webpages or contact Lib Golding goldinge@liverpool.ac.uk    

University of Liverpool postgraduate researchers can view placement opportunities and find out more about scheme via the Liverpool Doctoral College intranet.