Pharmacy student community boosts employability skills and communication

Students in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham are forming a close community, thanks to a new initiative - “Come on in to our research labs.”

Funded by friends and alumni of the university and HEFCE, the initiative creates opportunities for second-year undergraduates to shadow postgraduate students, working together in the laboratory and carrying out experiments, as well as meeting for networking events. They will also be making videos of the work they do together for use at public events and on the university website, looking at how they can engage external audiences with their science and research.

Undergraduate students gain employability and communication skills through working in teams and networking. Postgraduate students can act as a mentor and enhance their communication skills by giving the undergraduates access to their bench space and demonstrating their day-to-day activities, so that undergraduates can see what it’s like to be a researcher and whether it’s something they want to do in future.