Engage With Our Students

UCL Biochemical Engineering is dedicated to assisting our students to access opportunities, increase their employability and launch their careers. We provide several opportunities for our industry partners to engage with students, including placements, sponsor visits and our MBI Training Programme.

Why employ a UCL Biochemical Engineering student?

Our students are high-calibre individuals who have applied themselves to academic achievement and practical skill development. They are educated to a high level and have strong knowledge of the underlying disciplines. Our emphasis on research-based teaching and new technologies means our students can inject fresh ideas and contribute up-to-date knowledge.

Engaging with students will raise your organisation's profile as an employer of choice and strengthen your connection to a new cohort of future talent.

Year In Industry Programme

Our Year in Industry programme is optional final year for our 4th year Master of Engineering (MEng) students. The programme's objective is for students to learn in an industrial environment with academic support for 9 - 15 months. Participating students work in industry on a project relevant to Biochemical, Chemical or Process Engineering and will attend 4 MBI Training courses across the placement.

During the placement, the student will have the same duties and responsibilities as an employee and receive a salary in line with industry practice. Students must produce a comprehensive report, industry logbook, and skills portfolio and deliver a poster presentation at UCL.

We work closely with our industrial partners to define the scope of the placement and provide our partners with the opportunity to conduct recruitment interviews to ensure the 'best fit' for both the student and the company. As an industry partner, you will guide the student daily and work closely with the UCL supervisor to provide mentoring and feedback.

Before the commencement of a Year in Industry student placement, UCL and the company will sign a placement agreement to protect confidentiality and the company's IP rights.

Programme Director: Professor Alex Van Eck Conradie

Master's Projects

As the final part of their course, our MSc Biochemical Engineering students will complete a 10-to-12-week research project. We would welcome your involvement as an industry partner, for example, by offering a project at your company or sponsoring a project at UCL as part of a collaboration.

Projects should be in an area relevant to bioprocessing and have a departmental supervisor. The projects will be allocated to the students in early November. Students are not being paid, but the company should refund any extra expenses such as travel and accommodation. If the project is carried out in the department, we will ask for a ‘bench fee’ to cover the costs.

UCL Biochemical Engineering has played a key role in the emergence of the advanced bioindustry and has extensive industrial collaborations in research and training.

Research in the department benefits from strategic oversight provided by the Advisory Board to the Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering (ACBE), comprised of leading figures from the international bioindustry. The ACBE Advisory Board oversees activities and synergy between the department’s main research programmes.

All research and training provisions in the department benefit from the outstanding laboratory, computing and large-scale bioprocessing facilities following capital investments worth over £30 million in recent years. This ensures all our graduates are familiar with the latest technologies and have experience with large-scale bioprocessing.

Find out more by emailing bepgtadmin@ucl.ac.uk

Contact

If you would like further information about these programmes, please email biochemeng@ucl.ac.uk