Welcome to the final day of our “Where Are They Now?” blog series, where we reconnect with our former Population Data Science interns to see how their journeys have unfolded since their time with us.
Today, we will be catching up with Michael and Sam.
Michael and Sam’s stories offer great insights and inspiration for anyone curious about the long-term impact of an internship. Join us as we wrap up this series with their experiences and reflections.
Michael Parker
What year did you join us as an intern?
I joined the internship program in July 2019 during my undergraduate degree in Applied Medical Sciences.
Could you share a little bit about your internship and time with us?
During my 3-month internship, I worked on a study looking at multi-morbidity. I was supervised by Jane Lyons, a brilliant (and patient) research officer who was immensely helpful in guiding me through the programme and answering my many questions.
How did your internship help shape the next steps in your academic and/or career journey?
The internship programme was critical in shaping my academic journey. Excluding a few failed personal projects, I had never coded before. The internship provided the groundwork for conducting my 3rd year dissertation and a master’s thesis, which used SAIL and was supported by the team I was based with when completing my internship.
What are the main skills or lessons you picked up during your internship?
The main skills I developed were coding in R and SQL. The internship gave me a risk-free environment to develop these skills with no high-stress deadlines that might come with a degree. I had not mastered the languages, but I had enough experience to continue learning more independently.
What is your current job, and how did your internship play a role in you selecting this and securing it?
I am currently a Research Officer and Data Scientist at Population Data Science at Swansea University, in the same department where I interned 5 years ago. The internship got the ball rolling. The resulting technical experience I gained in coding and within the SAIL Databank made me a very suitable candidate for my current role.
How did your internship help you grow as a person?
It helped me realise that anything can be learned and that most barriers are mental. There is also nothing wrong with asking for help. That’s better than being stuck with a problem for 2 weeks!
Have you stayed in touch with anyone from your internship? How has that helped you?
As I work in the same department, I have continued to cross paths with people I met during the internship, which is always fun. Immediately following the internship, I was in contact with Professor Ashley Akbari, who organised the programme. He facilitated and part supervised my 3rd year dissertation, which used the SAIL Databank, enabling my continued learning and development.
What are your career aspirations/dreams for the future?
I’m currently just enjoying my time as a researcher, with no grand aspirations for now. I’d like to continue working on enjoyable projects and produce some good quality, highly impactful research.
What advice would you offer to someone considering applying for an internship based on your experience and impact following the internship?
My advice would be to absolutely apply regardless of your current experience. I was accepted onto the programme with pretty much no technical experience, just the drive to learn. It ultimately opened doors in my academic journey and career that may have remained closed without it.
Samuel Dobbie
What year did you join us as an intern?
I joined Population Data Science as an intern in 2018 during my second year studying Computer Science at Swansea University. During my internship, It was a great opportunity to apply what I was learning in a real-world setting.
Could you share a little bit about your internship and time with us?
My time at Population Data Science was fantastic. It provided me with an opportunity to work on a variety of challenging Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML)-related tasks. It also led me to develop Markup (an open-source document annotation tool) in my spare time, which is actively being used in projects at Swansea in collaboration with the NHS and others. It was also an incredible opportunity to be surrounded by such a smart group of people who were open and eager to help me learn and grow.
How did your internship help shape the next steps in your academic and/or career journey?
My internship was pivotal in shaping my career, exposing me to cutting-edge technologies and real-world ML/NLP applications, ultimately becoming one of my primary areas of interest and expertise.
What are the main skills or lessons you picked up during your internship?
My internship provided an ideal opportunity to build solid foundations across data analysis, ML and NLP, as well as enabling me to learn the importance of collaboration and project management when tackling complex, real-world problems.
What is your current job, and how did your internship play a role in you selecting this and securing it?
I’m currently a Software Engineer and Tech Lead at Palantir Technologies. My experience working with the SAIL Databank was crucial in developing the skills and interests that led me to this role.
How did your internship help you grow as a person?
The internship pushed me out of my comfort zone, teaching me to be more adaptable and confident in my abilities. It also helped me develop better communication skills and learn how to work more effectively in a professional setting.
Have you stayed in touch with anyone from your internship? How has that helped you?
I’ve stayed in touch with my former manager, Dr Arron Lacey. We speak regularly about the latest developments in ML and often collaborate on NLP-related problems. This ongoing connection has been invaluable for both my professional growth and network.
What are your career aspirations/dreams for the future?
My longer-term intention is to build a startup. The experience and skills I gained have helped in laying the groundwork for this goal.
What advice would you offer to someone considering applying for an internship based on your experience and impact following the internship?
Go for it! The internship programme and team are fantastic, and the opportunities to work on challenging problems are immense. Be open-minded, ask questions, and make the most of every learning opportunity.
For more information on our internship program and the latest news, visit our webpage.