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In November 2020, I began my three-month?online?placement with Hampshire County Council, working as a member of the Research and Insights team. The placement was part of an ongoing arrangement between the County Council and the Public Policy Unit and the University of BOB体育登录网址_欧宝体育官网平台-APP|下载. I was extremely excited and nervous to begin this short-term journey, as I had never?used my research skills to?work outside of my comfort zone like this?and?I?wanted to?grow both my confidence and skill set.?I joined the council at an extremely busy time when they were facing community issues and?future?obstacles?related to?the coronavirus, meaning that there was never a dull moment or a lull in work tasks?to complete.
Work?Experience
During those three months, I quickly found out one?huge?distinction between the world of academia and local government is the pace at which things (e.g., projects?or tasks) must progress. Gone was the luxury of weeks/months to write, draft, rethink and re-do.?This was partially due to the urgent nature and timelines of the projects that we were working on.?As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, I sometimes struggled with the idea that my work was not ‘perfect’ due to the speedy nature of the job. However, I did find that towards the end of the placement, I had?so much?more confidence in the work that I was?producing at speed,?and I?can only assume that it came from?the excellent?feedback and communication skills of the team I was working in!
Regardless of this?small confidence issue, I?did?enjoy the challenge of creating and brainstorming ideas under pressure.?The projects I participated on during my placement included helping to research and create insights that addressed the following:
Messaging for the Covid-19 ‘student-travel-window’ at Christmas
Messaging for Covid-19 family protocols at Christmas
Encouraging vaccine uptake amongst hesitant communities
I?additionally?participated in running focus groups, creating?various?presentations?based on?extensive?desk research,?and examining?pre-existing research to inform new insight?projects.?I especially enjoyed?moderating the?focus groups,?as this?let?me work closer with other team members and?allowed me to develop my qualitative skillset.
Overcoming?Limitations
There was one point in my placement where I hit an?obstacle. I was not able to complete a?task?due to a limit in my abilities?and skills?that I had not expected. As an academic?this was extremely frustrating for me and I found myself doubting?my abilities?as a researcher.?I felt like a failure and my confidence was?temporarily?knocked. However, after reaching out to the senior researcher (and my liaison) at the council, I was quickly reassured that this was a valuable experience to my personal development and that it was ok. This experience led to me really reflect on my attitude towards work ethic, success,?and how to deal with experiences of failure,?(which unfortunately, are inevitable in life). However, within the?bubble of academia and in my own head, failure is not always regarded so warmly as it is seen as the opposite of progression.?Therefore, I am glad I had this experience when I did, as it has only helped to inform my reactions to obstacles/mini failures since.
Balance
One thing I would like to highlight was the interesting experience I had trying to balance the work of my PhD alongside the placement, as I had chosen not to suspend my studies. In reflection, I would recommend?that future placement students?suspend their PhD studies, if able to do so.?This will allow you to fully immerse yourself into your placement guilt?free and?absorb all of the valuable experience available from?the?placement.?However, balancing my studies did not take away from what an amazing experience it was?to undertake this placement or my enjoyment of it.?I look forward to engaging more with the Public Policy Unit in the future and can only thank them for allowing me to have this wonderful opportunity.
Allison Noble, Web Science PhD Researcher at the University of BOB体育登录网址_欧宝体育官网平台-APP|下载.