“I have just finished my second year of the Broadcast and Multimedia journalism degree at the University of East Anglia.

I thought a placement at the Quadram Institute would be a fascinating opportunity. Coming from a more humanities subject background rather than a scientific one, I was both excited and slightly nervous about spending time in an environment centred around science and research.

One of the main reasons I wanted to attend was because I wanted to learn more about how a communications team operates, particularly when it comes to making complex scientific research accessible and engaging for wider audiences.

I was also keen to gain experience in a highly successful communications team. Over the past few years, the Quadram communications team has received several awards and nominations in recognition of its work, and I wanted to see first-hand what goes into producing communications of that standard. It felt like a great opportunity to learn from professionals and experience a level of communications work that I hadn’t encountered before outside of university.

Covering a variety of communication activities

During my placement, I have been working closely with the communications team and getting involved in a variety of day-to-day activities.

A large part of my week has involved shadowing Ruby, which has given me a really valuable insight into how science communications work in practice. It has been particularly interesting to see how different pieces of work come together behind the scenes, from planning through to publication.

I have also attended meetings, supported interviews, and helped with content creation across different platforms. For example, I got to sit in on a pre-recorded interview with one of the scientists for a BBC Radio 4 programme.

Being involved in both the writing and interviewing process has been a real highlight of the week.

This week has given me a much clearer understanding of how a communications team operates in a scientific research environment and the variety of skills involved in sharing science with the public.

Interviewing scientists and writing for different audiences

One of my biggest highlights was interviewing Dr Hannah Morelli. I really enjoyed the process of speaking with her and then turning that conversation into a written blog, as well as helping to edit the interview into a short-form social media videos afterwards. It was a great experience to see how different formats can be created from the same discussion.

One of the main things I’ve learned this week is just how different writing styles can be depending on where you’re working. On my degree, we’re very focused on traditional news writing, so everything is short, factual, in past tense, and quite stripped back in tone.

Being in a communications team has shown me a completely different approach. The writing is still clear and accurate, but it’s much more engaging and conversational, and there’s a lot more flexibility with tone and wording.

It was also interesting to see how organisations talk about their own work. For example, they’ll often say “our scientists” rather than “a scientist”, which feels much more personal and sense of pride.

Because of this I’ve realised how important it is to adapt your writing depending on who you’re speaking to and what you’re trying to achieve, rather than sticking to just one style.

Being part of a team

I have also really enjoyed being part of the communications team. Everyone was incredibly welcoming, especially Ruby and Clemence, who made me feel like part of the group from the start. The whole team was friendly, supportive, and clearly passionate about their work, which made the environment really enjoyable to be in.

It was inspiring to see people who genuinely enjoy what they do and take pride in it. That positive energy made a big difference to the atmosphere in the office.

I also really valued being part of a smaller, close-knit team where everyone supports each other and collaborates closely. There was a strong sense of individuality too, with people encouraged to follow their own interests, which seemed to make the team even stronger overall.

Using communication skills in a future career

I’m still not completely sure where I want to take my career, but one thing I do know after my week at the Quadram Institute is that I really enjoy writing.

Ideally, I’d like to go into publications like The Times, The Sunday Times, or The Telegraph. I’ve really enjoyed the process of writing during this placement, and it’s made me want to develop that skill further.

In the longer term, I’d love to work my way towards an editorial role, where I can be involved not just in writing, but also in guiding stories from start to finish.

This placement has helped me feel more confident about exploring that path and confirmed that writing is something I want to keep building on.”