Congratulations to Ollie Reed for winning ‘Best Intern’ at the National Undergraduate Employability Awards in London on Friday 6 February.
Ollie undertook a summer placement at the University through the Excel Southampton Placement Programme last year and won the Excel Outstanding Achievement Award for the contribution he made.
The placement working with Dr Tom Wilkinson, Associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine, saw Ollie working in the team that is developing new treatments for patients with life-threatening lung diseases. During his 8 weeks, Ollie introduced, manufactured and tested a new piece of equipment that saved the team over £30,000.
This led to a nomination for the national award, whereby Ollie beat over 400 other nominations to secure his place as a finalist against students who had worked with Enterprise rent-a-car; PwC and The Silver Spoon Company.
Apart from the tangible benefits Ollie brought to the project itself we are delighted that his achievement has received national recognition at this prestigious event.
Speaking of his award, Ollie said,
“It is an honour to win this award and without the support from the Excel Placement team and the Tom Wilkinson research group it could not have been possible. I thank them for giving me this opportunity.”
Professor Alex Neill, Pro Vice-Chancellor Education said,
“This is a fantastic achievement for Ollie and Southampton. It’s great to see more of our students joining the Excel Placement scheme and gaining valuable experience to launch their careers.”
Students who are interested in finding a placement with the Excel Southampton team can find more information here.