Alpha Aspire Programme

The day was brilliant, it gave me a much more in-depth idea of how many different careers there are in science, and how many ways there are into them. Another extremely helpful aspect for me was each person talking about how they started work in their profession, and what kinds of work experience and degrees they did to get there. It demonstrated how varied everyone's experiences are, they showed us how there is no set path you have to take to start working in a profession that you love, which I thought was very kind and reassuring. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity.

Alpha Labs was a great opportunity to look further into different jobs involving science such as the development of Covid swabs and the method in which they used to arrive at the product we see today in PCR and LFT tests. I found the presentation on faecal testing for bowel cancer and showing how a colonoscopy will be used less due to how unpleasant the experience is and the cost of the procedure, which I can relate to due to my annual check-up with my condition. I also enjoyed the explanation of what a colonoscopy is for the people who didn't know what it was.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to visit your laboratories. I thoroughly enjoyed the exercise with pipette training, It interested me greatly to learn more about equipment used in laboratories and I thoroughly enjoyed the practical side of it and learning specifically about how these were used in labs for developing products. I highly appreciate the opportunity and it has helped me learn more about working in the area of biomedicine.

Thank you for the opportunity I enjoyed my participation at Alpha Labs work experience because I was able to learn more about the different jobs linked to the scientific field and different paths that can get you to the research environment. However, what particularly interested me was the activity involving pipette academy. It was beneficial to me because I got to experience first hand how experimental studies are conducted in a laboratory work place setting.

I had the opportunity to visit the diagnostic laboratory (Alpha Laboratories) which was a great experience. We had the chance to use the titration pipettes that were 0.2 microlitres which is an extremely small amount of substance used in important experiments and tests.We looked at the first ever Covid swab that was produced by Alpha labs and how it improved over the time which proved the importance of developing new medical technologies to improve the health standards globally.Thank you for creating this outstanding experience which will benefit me long term.

During the Alpha Lab trip, we were all welcomed by such kind and generous scientists who were passionate about their field. It was very inspiring to hear them give their talks on their unique back stories and how it led them to become who they are today. I thoroughly enjoyed the practical part of the trip, where we were lucky enough to play around with the titration kits and get a taste of doing the tasks that they do themselves everyday.

Thank you Alpha Labs for the experience you gave us. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day. I found it quite interesting using the pipettes and learning about relevant lab equipment we could be using in our future careers. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience that I will remember.

Thank you for the opportunity of visiting your diagnostic labs, I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there and the talks were very beneficial for me, allowing me to get an insight into this industry of medicine. I particularly enjoyed the talk on veterinary medicine, which I found very interesting and very specific to what I want to do.