What do PhDs think about our placement scheme?

With more than 200 PhD placements since 2016, alumni share how the scheme has shaped their research, skills and careers.

Testimonials have been replaced with more recent examples. The number of PhD placements has been updated to reflect the latest totals.

PhD students on placement with the Open Innovation Team work on live policy projects, contribute to real commissions and develop skills in communicating evidence beyond academia.

Participants gain experience they can take back into research or into future roles across the public, private and third sectors.

Hear directly from PhD students about what they worked on, what they learned and how the placement influenced their next steps.

PhD in Computational Modelling of Visual Foraging Behaviour and Cognition, University of Essex

During my three-month placement I had the chance to work on two very interesting projects: one on algorithmic transparency commissioned by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and another on tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) content commissioned by the Home Office (HO). Both projects were genuinely eye-opening in terms of how policy-relevant research gets done in practice, from reviewing academic and grey literature, to interviewing experts around the world, and finally pooling everything together into a clear and concise report.

If you’re a PhD student with an interest in research that actually influences policy, I’d really encourage you to apply for this placement. Whatever your research background, there’s a place for you here!

When I went back to my PhD after the placement, something had changed. I still cared just as much about the rigour of my work and getting the methods right, but I found myself thinking more about how to explain the work clearly, who it needed to reach, and what it might be useful for.

It did not pull me away from research. If anything, it helped me share it more confidently beyond academia.