Earlier this year, Scimcon announced the launch of a new Graduate Recruitment Programme, aiming to attract new talent to our team. We’ve partnered with Sanctuary Graduates, a recruitment agency specialising in sourcing talented graduates for suitable roles within a variety of industries.
Joscelin Smith is one of our newest recruits, and Scimcon’s first graduate consultant to join us through the programme. We sat down with Joscelin to discuss her background, what led her to Scimcon, and what her experience has been like as a graduate joining the Scimcon team.
Science has always been a passion of mine, so after studying Biochemistry at Bristol University, I went on to work as a Research Assistant at Cambridge University, where I focused on Immunology. I then travelled to Auckland, to complete my PhD on the cardiac nervous system.
It was during this time that I started experimenting with software and coding, which really piqued my interest. This shifted my career trajectory towards a role that incorporated both science and technology, which is of course something I’ve been able to explore working at Scimcon.
I had a good idea of the type of role I was after, so after talking to and sending my CV to Sanctuary Graduates, the team put me in touch with Scimcon, who really matched what I was looking for. The interview was quickly set up, and the whole process was very smooth and painless, with a frequent channel of dialogue and updates from the Sanctuary end.
As a Graduate Information Systems Consultant, a large part of my role is helping clients implement various systems and software, such as SDMS and LIMS. I also help clients to problem-solve and alleviate any issues they are having with this process. I have been working in this role for around 6 months, which has mostly been a training period so far, shadowing multiple people across various roles. This has included working with Geoff, Scimcon’s Co-Founder and Principle Consultant, on a digital transformation strategy day, during the early stages of our work with a new client. I found this fascinating as it showed me how Scimcon can add real strategic value to clients. I have also worked with our Informatics Project Manager Lynda Weller, as well as Jon Fielding – one of the Project leads here at Scimcon. Being able to work with different colleagues has been very interesting and provided extremely useful insights into the role, as well as Scimcon in general.
The prospect of problem-solving first attracted me to this role, and being involved in the resolution of a particular issue for a client has been really rewarding so far. I didn’t know exactly what to expect but the project management has also emerged as a really enjoyable aspect of the job. Having worked in the lab myself, I really see the value in Scimcon’s mission to help make laboratory workflows more efficient.
As I’m familiar with a lot of the systems we work on, I can translate my experience in the lab to my role at Scimcon, working on design and implementation.
I am finding it incredibly fulfilling working for a company which is trying to bridge that gap and give more time back to scientists. I believe this process is invaluable and is something I am proud to be working on.
My previous lab experience was helpful to evaluate different career paths, and ultimately I am pleased that it has led me to my role as a Graduate Information Systems Consultant for Scimcon. I am really looking forward to advancing my career within the company and in the short term I am hoping to gain more exposure to different projects and the different systems we work with.
To read more about how Sanctuary Graduates are helping to provide Scimcon with talented candidates to add to our expertise in data informatics, read our previous blog.
