Work Placement Diary: Charlotte Wormser – post 1
Student experience 4 October 2019
Hi, my name is Charlotte; I am a French and German student studying Chemistry with Industrial Experience. I’m in my third year and I have chosen to take a work placement abroad in an international company.
Where are you doing your placement?
I began my placement in August in the German company Henkel. Henkel is based in Düsseldorf and I am in the Adhesive Technologies branch in Heidelberg. Henkel is a leading chemical and fast consumer goods company active in both the consumer and industrial sector. It was founded in 1876 and firstly produced cleaning detergents before expanding its manufacture to beauty products and adhesive technologies. Henkel has successfully expanded globally and has markets in over 100 countries worldwide.
How did you get your placement?
Henkel is a company that I have known for a very long time and I have admired the advancements they have made in their technologies. I was lucky to acquire the email address of the Technical Manager in product development for Adhesives Automotive Components. After e-mailing the department, I received a positive response and I was able to send my CV and Cover Letter. Due to the company being based in Germany, I had a Skype interview with both the Technical Manager and the Product Development Team. After this interview, I received a positive response to my application and I was told that I could start in the beginning of August!
What support did you get while you were preparing for the placement?
Most of the support I had was while I was preparing my CV and my Cover Letter. I wrote drafts of both and sent them to the careers service team in the Department of Chemistry. After reviewing my drafts, I received some feedback on how I could ameliorate my content. My application to Henkel was very rapid and within two weeks I was offered a place to work at their company. Therefore, I did not use any other help from the careers service for my application.
What are you working on and how long is your placement?
My placement started in August 2019 and will last 12 complete months until July 2020. I am working on a new formula for Liquid Optical Clear Adhesives (LOCA), used for displays in automotive. LOCA is used to increase the intensity of colours in the display present in a car as it replaces the air gap in between the glass screen and the touch screen.
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