Oliver Peacock, a former Applied Science student who has just graduated with a 2:1 in physics recently got in touch to tell us about his journey to studying at a PhD level.
When thinking about which education was right for him, Oliver felt that A Levels didn’t give him enough practical experience in a scientific laboratory and saw that the course at our Aylesbury campus provided this and the modules offered him a wider variety of scientific subjects to study. This larger amount of practical experience has now come in handy to Oliver at university when visiting other laboratories for research purposes.
Whilst studying at our Aylesbury campus Oliver took all opportunities given to him to further his experience which include work experience at RAF Halton which came to be very useful in his future.
Oliver said “The course I took at Aylesbury College helped to lay the foundations for scientific writing and laboratory practice which gave me a noticeable edge over some of my other course mates at university.” He felt his essays that were completed at college helped with referencing and scientific reports which was a large part of his degree. Carrying our practical work on his course also taught him good lab practice which has been invaluable throughout his degree and he still uses these skills everyday now. Being familiar with how to handle chemicals and safety procedures helped him to be able to focus on the science in hand instead of basic lab practice.
Oliver has just graduated with a 2:1 in physics and has been offered to go straight onto a PhD program without doing a Masters first. “I plan to start in January and will be studying at the De Montfort University Institute of Holography. The official title of my research degree is “Modern holography techniques”. Holography is a branch of physics and chemistry which is a merge of arty and science with many different applications in the modern world.” To find out more visit DMUs Holographic Institute page.
At the Buckinghamshire College Group we offer 3 Science courses including the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Applied Science previously studied by Oliver. Visit https://www.buckscollegegroup.ac.uk/science to find out more.
