Alison Stewart

I wanted to study at The University of Edinburgh because of its status as a world-renowned university. After attending the open day and chatting to future lecturers and students, I realised there was a good sense of community within my course. The reason for selecting this specific course was my interest in the natural world, wanting to study it to use that knowledge to make real change in the world. When I started university, I was curious and excited, and as time progressed, I realised I was incredibly lucky that I enjoyed the content of my lectures and found real joy to come in each day.

I have fond memories of my time at university. It wasn't always easy though and a memory that will always stick with me is the support of the student support team, my Personal Tutor and my dissertation supervisor. They truly want the best for the students on the course and will always try their best to help you succeed.

Attending all the field trips associated with my degree program were highlights and it would be hard to select the best one. Learning hands-on in nature  allowed me to connect my in-class knowledge to the local environment. It was a real sense of achievement to do field experiments collecting our own data. Also the social aspect of these were fantastic, each one brought our year group together, creating the sense of community I noticed on my open day.

Don't get stuck in the city and forget why you chose your course. Get out in nature, explore and take note of what surrounds you and interests you. These times will allow you to focus your studies and maybe even help pick a dissertation that suits you.

Fun, Knowledge, Friends, Experiences, Forgiving.

• Maintaining the indoor and outdoor tree growing facilities.
• Aiding with laboratory tasks such as fungi isolations, culture maintenance, R&D, PCR, SOP & RA writing.
• Assisting and sometimes leading field work entailing fungi collections and tree measurements.
• Analysing data with R-studio, Excel, QGIS and image-J.

It took me until the following February to secure a job related to my degree. It was a tough time until then, I moved back home, wondering what was it all worth if I couldn't get a job. After trying for a while to no avail, I contacted the university careers service and was pointed towards the Graduate Career Advantage Scotland (GCAS) website. There I found an internship at a start-up company called Rhizocore, this was the perfect fit for me as I had no current experience in my field and they were advertising an opportunity to learn and grow with the company. So I interviewed and the rest is history.

Find out more about Graduate Career Advantage Scotland

My degree gave me all the background knowledge but also an understanding of what I like, don't like and excel in. Many tasks I was able to complete with little to no training because of my education, and with others I was not afraid to ask for help after spending many years already doing so.

I began using R language in my very first year of university. At the beginning, it was a completely foreign language, I couldn't even comprehend how anyone could understand it, but after it being integrated into every year and a stint in coding club I finally learned how to use R and even enjoy it! It has really been my most useful skill to bring into my current job.

Field work. Just as much as I enjoyed it during university, I still enjoy it now. I'm at my happiest when in the field surrounded by nature. Then the subsequent data analysis is always interesting to explore what we've measured.

The ever-changing work within a start-up can be challenging at times, no two days are the same and adaptability is essential. But this also has its upside, that things are never stagnant and boring, and I'm always excited to come to work.

Don't be afraid to directly contact smaller companies or organisations to see if they have any work experience opportunities, even if it is just for a week. It's a simple thing to do, which I didn't realise was an option as a student.