Marcel Hedman is going into his third year of Physical Natural Sciences at Churchill College. Here, he describes being a finalist for Science Undergraduate of the Year in 2019
Last year, I had the honour of being selected as a top ten finalist in the Science Undergraduate of the Year Award, which was an amazing experience and one which I would love to share with you all.
I initially applied for the award in December
I found it very interesting that the award was sponsored by the Law firm Clifford Chance, despite it being a science award, but it was a testament to Clifford Chance’s mission to diversify their workforce.
The first part of the process involved submitting an online application, answering some questions set by Clifford Chance, and finally doing a Watson Glaser test
One of the questions that stood out to me involved submitting a proposal on how you would use science and technology to solve a global-scale problem society is facing. This question really pushed me to go further than a typical application process and sparked the beginning of a year of trying to solve problems as well. I was fortunate to be successful in this part of the application process which meant I proceeded to the final assessment day.
the room was a hotbed of diverse talent
The assessment day was held in the Clifford Chance office in Canary Wharf, which provided further insight into life at Clifford Chance
Speaking with the graduate recruitment team gave us the opportunity to ask questions about the life of a lawyer, and how STEM students can add value within the profession. The assessment itself provided an interesting opportunity to discuss the solution which I had come up with. We dived further into detail about the feasibility of the solution, and answered competency-based questions. I left the day feeling challenged, but I knew I had grown in my ability to articulate complex solutions, and fortunately I was invited to the final awards ceremony which was held in Canary Wharf.
The final awards ceremony was a great day for many reasons…
Speaking to other students from the various Undergraduate of the Year award streams was incredible, and the room was a hotbed of diverse talent. It was an amazing room to be in and learning from previous award winners was invaluable. Overall, I would highly recommend applying for the 2020 award, as it is an intense but rewarding experience!