The essay-writing efforts of four computing students paid off handsomely when Intel Ltd presented each of them with a prize cheque worth £250. The students were all judged winners of the Intel Essay Competition 2008 - the competition invited third year computing students on Year in Industry degree programmes to write about their experiences while on work placement.

Candida Simpson, from Intel Ltd, presented the prizes during a visit to the Computing Laboratory on the 22nd January 2009. Stephanie Lee, College Programme Manager from Intel Corporation Ltd, congratulated the students on the high standard of their essays, and commented that they would be a useful source of information to future students interested in taking a placement year.

The winners (and their placement companies) are:

• Richard Cohen who worked for HSBC, Hong Kong
• Ugochukwu Santos-Oputa who worked for IBM, South Bank
• Patrick Smith who worked for Morgan Stanley, Canary Wharf
• Simon Todd who worked for Philips, Redhill

The competition was open to Computing Laboratory students who are registered for a degree with a year in industry component and who had completed their work placement last year. Entrants were asked to reflect upon their experience with their placement company, to consider the broader impact it has had on their life and to write an essay, in no more than 600 words, to help inform others who may also be considering the option.

Prof. Michael Kölling, from the Computing Laboratory, thanked Intel for their continued support for the Year in Industry scheme and said how this kind of work experience benefits students both in their final year of study and in the job market. Intel have a strong commitment to work experience and are very popular with our computing students who have benefited from placements with Intel for several years.

During the visit Intel provided a workshop for second year computing students who are preparing for their placement year next year. Intel outlined the importance of 'soft skills' in the work place, focussing particularly on communication. The students undertook an exercise discovering their individual style of communication.

The events took place on the 22nd January 2009 in the Computing Laboratory at the University of Kent, Canterbury campus.

Published 6 February 2009
Contact: M.L.Bowman@kent.ac.uk

Candida Simpson presents prize cheques to Richard Cohen and SimonTodd