Quintessa welcomes Jen Wilson from the University of Manchester and Tom Robson from the University of Bath as they start placements with us as part of undergraduate courses in Environmental Science and Physics with Astrophysics, respectively.
Jen and Tom will be working with us on a range of mathematical modelling, geoscience, decision support and software development projects over the next year.
Quintessa has a long history of employing university students on placements. Such placements are mutually beneficial; the students gain relevant experience in a professional environment as well insight into the fields in which we work and how mathematics is used in industry. The company's size means that the students can actively participate in a wide range of business activities. For its part, Quintessa benefits from talented individuals wishing to undertake such placements, using the opportunity to progress interesting research and development projects and to capitalise on the value of a fresh outlook. Hosting placement students is part of Quintessa's STEM outreach activities designed to inspire future generations to engage in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects.
In the past, students on placement have made significant contributions to the development of three of our free software downloads, Graph Grabber, LATIN and Portfolio Picker and to updating our website. Behind the scenes they have been involved in various mathematical modelling initiatives and supporting the testing of Quintessa's software. To date, three placement students have also gone on to become permanent employees following completion of their studies; Neil Chittenden, Rebecca Newson and most recently Louise Bruffell.