I really enjoyed team working during my placement
Chidera Victor, BSc Data Science with a Year in Industry graduate (2026)
A Data Science degree seemed the perfect way to combine the two things I most enjoy: statistics and programming! I chose to do a placement year as I wanted to gain hands-on experience of working with real data to help inform my career choices.
How I found my placement
Alyce Griffith from the Science Partnership Office shared the placement role at the Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of Higher Education in England. I applied and joined the Data Department as an Assistant Data Analyst, working alongside four other placement students from different universities. I enjoyed flexibility of hybrid working, typically spending two days a week based in OfS’ office in Stoke Gifford, Bristol, and the remaining days working from home.
What I worked on
My team worked on student outcomes. I was allocated an interesting project, working on quantitative data used to measure student success and institutional quality. These follow students across their academic career using:
- Continuation: those who progress each year,
- Completion: those who complete their studies successfully,
- Progression: the outcomes of students a year after completing their studies.
It was a steep learning curve initially, as the OfS used a different programming language, SAS, to the ones I had studied at university. Then the department transitioned to using Python and SQL, the former taught as part of my degree, the latter I learnt on the job. Through various coding projects, such as rewriting code from SAS into SQL, I was able to learn all three languages to a high level during my time at the OfS. During this transition, we were able to improve the efficiency of the coding script while maintaining accuracy of our statistics.
Collaboration and teamwork
I found the environment at OfS very supportive, I was assigned mentors and worked with two different managers across the 14 months. Studying for a degree can be quite an individual experience, and I particularly liked being part of a team working towards a shared goal. I had never programmed collaboratively before: writing code together, and editing and reviewing each other’s code, but doing so really broadened my outlook on programming. A highlight from the year was presenting my code to senior colleagues and knowing that my code used was used in official publications.
Recommendations and reflections
I would 100% recommend doing a placement year if you are even thinking about it. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain! My goal was to broaden my technical experience. Instead, I leave with valuable skills and memories that will stay with me forever. It also helped me approach the final year of my degree differently, viewing topics from a “how can I apply this” perspective. I am happy to say that I graduated with a 2:1, and I’m now deciding whether to go back into work, or further my studies by completing a Masters in Machine Learning.
Multiple advantages for OfS
"Chidera was a big help for the team and worked flexibly through a challenging time for us, as we changed our technology. Chidera was a member of our analytical team and picked up similar work to the rest of us - she was keen, smart and worked well independently, creating a lot of code which is still used.
We also value placement students for the variety they bring to the team. They often ask different, challenging questions which help us to see our own organisation from another direction - Chidera certainly did this! I hope Chidera enjoyed her time as much as we enjoyed having her, and we are looking forward to welcoming another student from the same course soon." Gareth Powell, Principal Analyst, Office for Students.
Interview written up by Dr Joanna Jordan https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannafjordan/