Annie Robertson
PIPS Host Organisation: Technopolis Ltd

Annie Robertson worked as a consultant in the Health & Life Sciences team at Technopolis in Brighton. She worked on several different projects and proposals in collaboration with the team throughout her three-month placement. She was primarily responsible for conducting background research for a list of case studies. This work is part of a larger evaluative report on the success UK vaccine network. Part of this involved reading and handling confidential information to select relevant aspects which could inform future analyses. These required a broad understanding of biological science, and the ability to communicate technical details to non-specialise audiences. Annie also assisted in writing and formatting proposals for tenders, building databases for analysis, and collecting materials for use in economic analyses.

Throughout her time at Technopolis, she had the opportunity to attend several training sessions. She learnt the considerations required to undertake successful interviews which can acquire data capable of being analysed. She also attended a course which covered many of the leading methodologies used in consultancy, which were entirely unfamiliar to her prior to the placement. This included a one-to-one follow-up session which contextualised such methodologies using an example of an ongoing project.