My name is Anna and I am a physics student at St Andrews University. I will be working for 10 weeks with Optos on innovative imaging techniques of the eye.
Today is Thursday and I have almost finished my first week at Optos. I was quite nervous but super excited on my first day as I did not know what to expect. It is the first time that I work for a big company.
When I arrived I met Ula, the Saltire Scholar that is working with me on the project. She is super sweet and talented. After that the line manager showed us around and I was so excited to see all the labs and meet so many people! Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. They explained the project in more detail and I was pleased to see that I will be able to use a lot of the physics skills that I have gained during my studies at university.
My favourite aspect of the project is that it will help enhance techniques for imaging of the retina and it is a real-life project that hopefully will be truly useful to make important advancements and have an impact on helping people’s lives and sight. Everyone on the team was very excited to have us and involved us in everything. We met other trainees and apprentices from other areas of the company, so we also learned how the company works regarding other aspects such as finance.
During the past two days, Ula and I attended the PI planning of all the teams for the next three months. It was very insightful to see the processes behind the organization and planning of the projects and how the different teams collaborate and help each other. The process is complicated and it lasts two days, but it was something I had never experienced before and it was so great to see that also our project was included in the planning!
I am so excited for the next weeks, to see where the project goes, meet and work with more wonderful people and experience new opportunities.
