Tejal Shah

My favourite memory has to be running Summer Schools as a Student Ambassador and seeing shy potential students come in and develop over just a few days. Playing a role in opening their minds to University was really rewarding.

 

My most transformative memory has to be the calling campaigns which I worked on as a Student Ambassador, speaking to applicants who were thinking of coming to the University and sharing my experience with them.

 

I really enjoyed hands-on tasks at the University, like being in the manufacturing and testing laboratories, conducting experiments and tests. Furthermore, my experiences as a Student Ambassador helped me realise that I really enjoyed  working with people in a customer service focused role. This was amplified by the work I had done with the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) team on calling campaigns. I even won a few awards whilst working at the University. Through this experience, I have met and spoken to so many students about university, personal statements, Applicant Experience Days and even working on clearing. Being able to work on clearing was resonant for me, as it was only the year before that I had been on the other side of the phone as a an applicant.

Initially my main goal as a recent graduate was to secure a place on a graduate scheme, but unfortunately, I had one negative experience where a graduate scheme opportunity was completely missold to me. This led to a conversation with my academic supervisor, from my final year project, who offered me the opportunity to undertake an internship as a Research Assistant for medical devices, within the Medical Engineering department. This was a good opportunity to develop more experience as a recent graduate and further develop my professional skills.

 

Following 6 months as a Research Assistant I secured my dream job at Johnson & Johnson. The opportunity to be employed as a Research Assistant helped provide me with the experience needed to be able to develop further and prepared me for the application process that brought my goals to life.

My role as a Research Assistant saw me manufacture and test bioresorbable shape memory polymers that can be loaded with drugs. This can range from implants to sutures. This role utilised my understanding gained from my degree, and in particular, my final year project. This field has endless potential with what projects you can contribute to, it also is an area that is constantly growing with an ageing population needing more Biomedical Engineers to provide for their needs.