Achievements celebrated at the Year in Industry Placement Awards 2018/2019

On Thursday 23rd January 2020, the Courtroom, 50 Shakespeare Street, played host to the Year in Industry Placement Awards 2018/19.

Year in Industry Awards 2018/2019 Winners

The Year in Industry Placement Awards 2018/2019 winners, alongside David Eade, Director of Employability and Rachel Heyes, Head of Employer Engagement and Placements

The award ceremony recognised the achievements of both students and placement providers that exceeded expectations and performed exceptionally during the previous academic year. The quality of nominations was once again to a very high standard, with all recipients demonstrating admirable qualities in their respective fields.

Alongside the NTU Employability Team, a number of academics, School Employability Managers and students’ guests were in attendance to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the award winners.

From 1,356 placements during the 2018/2019 academic year, we are pleased to announce a full list of the winners below:

Dannii Calvert collects her award from David Eade, alongside Kate Lewis, Audit Senior Manager, Grant Thornton

Placement Student of the Year 2018/2019

Category: Large Corporation (over 250 employees)

Winner: Dannii Calvert, BA (Hons) Economics with Business

Placement Provider: Grant Thornton UK LLP

Nominated by: Ryan Baxter, Audit Manager, Grant Thornton

Dannii completed a year-long placement at Grant Thornton UK LLP, part of the Grant Thornton network of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms in over 135 countries. Nationally, 8,500 firms are audited annually, from FTSE and AIM companies to SMEs.

Working in a client-facing role, she worked as part of a number of different teams to deliver statutory audit and assurance services to various clients of the firm. Dannii hit the ground running from day one and by the end of her placement, she found herself in high demand by a number of managers and audit teams- always going the extra mile to deliver high-quality, high-class client service.

Towards the end of Dannii’s placement and in recognition of her drive and ability, she was asked to take responsibility for the audit of a small company within a large group – a task requiring breadth of experience and normally reserved for individuals with around 2 years’ experience in audit.

After her placement, she was offered a graduate position with Grant Thornton commencing in autumn 2020, proving herself an invaluable asset not only to the company but also to our University.

Dannii was a shining star, her rate of progression in her role was fantastic which was recognised by both her colleagues and external clients.

Ryan Baxter

Audit Manager

Grant Thornton

Andi Williams collects her award, alongside Anna Murphy and Alex Broxson from Retail Assist

Category: SME Organisation (less than 250 employees)

Winner: Andi Williams, BA (Hons) Marketing

Placement Provider: Retail Assist

Nominated by: Alex Broxson, Head of Marketing/ Anna Murphy, Communications Lead, Retail Assist

Andi undertook a 36-week placement at Retail Assist, a company providing retail and hospitality businesses with software solutions and IT managed services, for enhancement of future digital strategies.

Her main role was to manage and create content for the company’s social media accounts and to support the marketing team with research for campaigns. Andi soon exceeded initial expectations, progressing to follow up on sales activity and qualifying and tracking sales leads from the company website.

In addition, Andi was able to manage website content, regularly updating job posts and writing blogs which increased visibility and revenue; Twitter impressions rose by 42% YoY, whilst Instagram impressions reached 98,235 YoY.

The fantastic work that Andi carried out contributed to Retail Assist’s nomination for the CIM Marketing Team of the Year 2020.

She has the maturity and business acumen of someone far beyond her years: you actually forget she is still a student. We’ve been so impressed by her that she is also working for us on a part-time basis whilst she finishes her degree and I have already offered Andi a role upon completion of her degree: she is by far the best undergraduate placement we have seen in the business.

Alex Broxson

Head of Marketing

Retail Assist

Daniel Knox, Senior Design Engineer, Unilever, receives his award alongside Georgia Cook

Placement Employer of the Year 2018/2019

Category: Large Corporation

Winner: Unilever

Nominated by: Georgia Cook, BA (Hons) Furniture and Product Design

Unilever products are used by an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide each day, with more than 400 brands bought in 190 countries. The company has a great relationship with the University, providing our students with nine placements in 18/19 and twelve for the current academic year.

After spending 36-weeks with the company’s Global Hair Packaging Team in the North-West, Georgia Cook nominated Unilever for the Placement Employer of the Year award. Georgia was particularly impressed with the firm’s ability to advance her understanding of design within mass manufacturing, beauty and professional care products.

She was given a great amount of responsibility and was trusted with design projects that enabled her to present her work to top level management at the company HQ. In addition, she was able to showcase her talents through exhibitions around the world.

Throughout her placement, Georgia was managed by Daniel Knox, Senior Design Engineer and NTU Alumni.

I had the most incredible experience working at Unilever and have made some great contacts and amazing friends. I miss it dearly!

Georgia Cook

BA (Hons) Furniture and Product Design

Paul Vecchione, Product Manager, Toyota, alongside David Eade and Holly Barnes

Category: Large Corporation

Highly Commended: Toyota

Nominated by: Holly Barnes, BA (Hons) Marketing

Toyota boasts 52 overseas manufacturing companies in 27 countries worldwide, alongside 400 people at its landmark headquarters in Surrey. The company has taken six placement students from Nottingham Trent University over the last year three academic years.

They were nominated for the Placement Employer of the Year award by Holly Barnes, BA (Hons) Marketing after the completion of her Product Marketing placement. Holly highlighted the firm’s aptitude for providing exceptional opportunities for her to enhance her skills and develop a passion for innovation, as well as increasing her confidence throughout the year.

Holly was involved in marketing the organisation’s new UX250 hybrid engine which was valuably recognised by her managers.

I was given responsibility from the very start and my opinion was valued and considered. I couldn’t have asked for a better placement year than working at Toyota.

Holly Barnes

BA (Hons) Marketing

Professor Brian Ellison accepts the award for STFC RAL, as nominated by Eimear Gallagher

Category: SME

Winner: Science and Technology Facilities Council RAL Space

Nominated by: Eimear Gallagher, BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics

STFC RAL Space carry out world-class science research and technology development with significant involvement in more than 210 spacecraft. An integral part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the space hub for UK Research and Innovation, RAL Space’s mission is to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish.

They were nominated by Eimear Gallagher, BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics, following her year spent within Millimetre Wave Technology. Describing her 36-week placement as ‘incredible’, Eimear was able to develop her skills through international scientific work and was provided with opportunities to assist with installation of scientific equipment around the world.

Eimear received the Patricia Tomkins Undergraduate Prize for 2019 from the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) for her work on developing the heterodyne receiver. She expressed her gratitude towards her placement opportunity that has allowed her to work on what she has described to be ‘an amazing project’.

Working with RAL Space has provided me with many skills that I have now been able to take back to NTU and apply to my further years of study.

Eimear Gallagher

BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics

Zoe Harkness, Head of Planning at Thinkbox accepts the award with Thomas Minster

Category: SME

Highly Commended: Thinkbox

Nominated by: Thomas Minster, BA (Hons) Business Management and Marketing

Thinkbox is the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK and counts Channel 4, ITV, Sky Media, Turner Media and UKTV amongst its shareholders. The organisation was nominated for Placement Employer of the Year by Thomas Minster, BA (Hons) Business Management and Marketing who had the honour of being the first placement student to work for the firm.

Thomas said that Thinkbox provided him with exceptional opportunities in order for him to develop his skills during his time working with the business. He also cited the firm’s willingness to provide him with responsibilities enabling him to expand his knowledge and understanding of the TV advertising and media industry as a key part of his successful placement.

He was able to benefit greatly by working alongside industry experts who treated him as an equal part of the team. As he mastered basic responsibilities, he was given the freedom to explore new areas both in the company and with shareholders such as working with the marketing, partnerships, research and client development teams.

My placement was great as not only did it help give me a wider understanding of different areas in the wider TV advertising industry, it has also provided me with more employability options for post-graduation.

Thomas Minster

BA (Hons) Business Management and Marketing

Phil Clarke of The Hive receives his award with Sophie Trainor

Category: Internal

Winner: The Hive

Nominated by: Sophie Trainor, BA (Hons) Product Design

This year’s winner of the NTU Internal Placement Employer is The Hive which is designed predominantly to assist NTU staff, students and graduates. The Hive offers the support and expertise needed to put fledgling business ideas in practice. This is achieved through mentoring and training facilities and a strong support network.

The Hive was nominated by Sophie Trainor, currently studying BA (Hons) in Product Design. Sophie highlighted the invaluable information and confidence to initiate her business idea, alongside the exceptional support she received, as her main reasons for her nomination.

In addition, Sophie expressed her gratitude to Phil Clarke, Student Enterprise Advisor, for his support and passion over the course of her placement.

I nominated The Hive for the endless amount of support I received during my placement and for giving me the confidence to move forward with my business idea.

Sophie Trainor,

BA (Hons) Product Design

Faye Martin accepts the award for NTU Global with Vinay Shradha Kini

Category: Internal

Highly Commended: NTU Global

Nominated by: Vinay Shradha Kini, MSc Marketing

The highly commended award for NTU Internal Placement Employer of the Year was awarded to NTU Global. They were nominated by Vinay Shradha Kini, who is studying a masters in Marketing.

Vinay, an international student, decided to forward NTU Global for the award following a placement where she was able to enhance her knowledge and skills within a supportive and respectful environment.

Her ideas were welcome and respected, with Vinay hugely thankful to her mentor, tutors and the entire team for her experience. Vinay’s placement involved helping with events, summer schools and taking part in Global Week, all of which helped her to develop and establish new skills to help her with her future career.

I sincerely want to thank my personal mentor, my tutors, employability team members and the entire team of NTU Global for providing me with the best placement.

Vinay Shradha Kini,

MSc Marketing

Nottingham Trent University would like to congratulate all placement students and providers on their achievements during the 2018/19 academic year and look forward to hearing about further successes in 2019/20.

Notes for editors

About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students. NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.
The university has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available.
It is one of the largest UK universities. With nearly 32,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University contributes £900m to the UK economy every year. With an international student population of more than 3,000 from around 100 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook
The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was awarded University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards 2019. A total of 82% of its graduates go on to graduate entry employment or graduate entry education or training within six months of leaving. Student satisfaction is high: NTU achieved an 87% satisfaction score in the 2019 National Student Survey.
A total of 82% of its graduates go on to graduate entry employment or graduate entry education or training within six months of leaving. Student satisfaction is high: NTU achieved an 87% satisfaction score in the 2019 National Student Survey.
NTU is also one of the UK’s most environmentally friendly universities, containing some of the sector’s most inspiring and efficient award-winning buildings.
NTU is home to world-class research, and won The Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2015 – the highest national honour for a UK university. It recognised the University’s pioneering projects to improve weapons and explosives detection in luggage; enable safer production of powdered infant formula; and combat food fraud.