University students benefit from Sensor City internships
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University students are benefitting from a student internship programme organised by Sensor City, Liverpool’s global hub for sensor technology development.
Sensor City introduced a dedicated student-to-industry matching service to support its resident businesses by connecting them with talented interns. The scheme in turn provides students with invaluable work experience and an insight into working in a commercial environment.
University of Liverpool students are benefitting from this scheme with one student being offered further employment opportunities with the host company.
Oliver Newman, a Computer Science student, has been working with Pulse Systems Ltd, a Sensor City member business, through the internship scheme over the summer holidays and he has recently been offered, and accepted, a full-time position with the company.
Kevin Davies, Managing Director of Pulse Systems Ltd, said: “Sensor City helped us recruit three students through the University of Liverpool’s internship scheme. Each individual was given autonomy to deliver against a set of tasks aligned with our Smart Buildings project for Sensor City.
“We have been really impressed by Sensor City’s facilitation service and equally by the calibre of the students involved. So much so, that we have offered a full-time contract to one student, Oliver Newman, upon graduation and will be covering his degree costs over the next two years so that he no longer needs to work night shifts to support himself through his degree.
“We are delighted that Sensor City’s assistance with these internships has led to such a beneficial arrangement for both Pulse Systems and our student intake. We are keen to continue hosting student placements as our business grows – helping to create new jobs in electronic design engineering, software development and volume manufacturing within LCR.”
Oliver, pictured below with Kevin Davies and Dr Joanne Phoenix signing his contract, said: "The internship has allowed me to work on a wide range of activities including web design, hardware and cloud platforms. I’ve enjoyed working within a company at the cutting edge of Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Building technology. Both Kevin and Mike have been great mentors to me. They trust me to deliver quality work and although it’s challenging, it’s a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. I am really looking forward to starting my full time position with Pulse Systems upon graduation."
Kaiyin Wu who recently graduated with a first-class degree in Electrical Engineering, from the University and Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University is also benefitting from an internship with Sensor City.
Kaiyin (below) wanted to put the things she’d learnt during her degree into practice within a live working environment.
Her expertise lies in control systems, signal processing and CMOS design layout of logic gates and she has been able to apply these skills to the projects she’s undertaking at Sensor City. One project to date has involved designing a PCB for a smart glove and another is requiring her to work with high power applications (4KW).
She is working alongside Sensor city in-house Engineers and Prototype specialists undertaking work directly for Sensor City and on behalf of their customers.
Kaiyin said: “I am excited to be working with the team at Sensor City, using my knowledge to develop sensor applications and systems for SMEs.
“During my internship I also want to refresh my knowledge of Altium Designer now that it has an updated software interface and am also hoping to gain a better understanding of MicroPython, as although the logic of its algorithm is similar to what I’ve used previously when programming, the language is different.”
You can read more about Kaiyin's internship here >>>>>
Dr Joanne Phoenix, Interim Executive Director at Sensor City, said: “While our internship matching service gives valuable experience to the region’s innovation stars of tomorrow, it’s also one of the most accessible ways for businesses to connect with talent and has even helped some businesses recruit key members of their teams. With our strong network of academic and business partners, Sensor City is right at the heart of innovation in the region, so we are best placed to make these connections and help futureproof Liverpool City Region’s status as one of the UK’s key innovation hubs.”
The paid internship scheme is just one strand of Sensor City’s current student offering. It also opens its doors to all students each Wednesday during term time to allow them to make use of its hotdesking and break out spaces.
Providing this free space for students encourages them to hold society meet ups in the innovation hub – the University of Liverpool’s Coding and Robotics Society is just one of many student groups currently making regular use of the offer.
Students attending these society meet-ups also have the opportunity to be introduced to some of Sensor City’s larger corporate partners, including Unilever and Arrow Electronics, who are looking for routes to access new innovative technologies and talent.
Current internship vacancies can be found on the Sensor City community page.
Sensor City is a joint venture project between the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University which brings together knowledge and experience in sensor technology and houses and supports high-tech businesses working on sensor systems and applications.