STMicroelectronics is a multinational creator of semiconductor technologies to support, develop, and enhance people’s daily lives. Its Scottish office, based in Edinburgh, focuses on research and development, with the team having access to substantial amounts of data.
We look at the positive impact that taking part in the MSc Placement Programme has had on STMicroelectronics – could our students bring the same benefits to your business?
The Background
As an engineering firm, STMicroelectronics traditionally hired people with software and computer science backgrounds, with an emphasis on electronics; the Edinburgh office often recruited new talent from local universities, focusing on engineering students and recent graduates.
With its focus on manufacturing and testing, the organisation had a large amount of data at its fingertips but wasn’t using it to its full potential – in part because its engineers didn’t have enough understanding of data science. STMicroelectronics realised it needed to undergo a “digital transformation process,” bringing in employees with the right skillset from the get-go to make use of the wealth of data that the company has.
In 2019, the company turned to The Data Lab to fund a PhD programme and, in 2020, it welcomed its first MSc students specifically from the data sector to participate in a placement.
The calibre of students we’ve worked with in The Data Lab MSc programme has been fantastic, and I wouldn’t hesitate to offer any of them a full-time position after graduation.
Robert Nicol, Technology Development Manager, STMicroelectronics
More organisations, especially engineering firms, should consider working with students. In all my years of working with them, I’ve never had an experience where they failed to bring in new ideas or perspectives that ultimately contributed to the bottom line of the organisation.
Supervisor requirements are not a huge overhead – just a day here or there, or a few hours each week – but the payback is invaluable.
The Graduate Experience
While STMicroelectronics has specific projects in mind for each student, the organisation is flexible and ensures that these are closely aligned with the student’s interests and skills, reshaping the direction of tasks where necessary. Students are treated as full members of the team during their 3-month placement and expected to participate fully, working with engineers in the UK and overseas.
STMicroelectronics takes a collaborative role in each student’s education: students are given ample support to develop their thesis, including rehearsing with the team before presenting to the university, to gain feedback from other students and engineers. They also have added support in the form of 1-2-1 meetings with Robert Nicol, Technology Development Manager at STMicroelectronics.
The Impact
Thanks in part to The Data Lab MSc students, STMicroelectronics is experiencing a general shift in mindset around data and welcoming individuals with a wider mix of backgrounds and knowledge. The team recognises that engineering and computer science students tend to look at problems as they relate to a particular field or characteristic, while a data science student is more likely to approach the same situation from a broader angle. The two mindsets complement each other and are vital to helping engineering firms extract value and insight from data.
To date, three of The Data Lab’s MSc students have worked at STMicroelectronics, and the organisation plans to bring in more. It is also planning to upskill employees to bring more data science knowledge into the company.
Student Spotlight: Rachana Patel, MSc Data Science, Heriot-Watt University
Rachana joined The Data Lab’s MSc graduate placement programme with extensive experience in biology, having already completed a PhD in biochemistry, where she researched cancer. Her knowledge of biological processes combined with her technical skillset gave STMicroelectronics a new understanding of how to use data that is inherently imbalanced.
This helped define a new PhD project that STMicroelectronics hopes to progress with Heriot-Watt University and another student at a future date. Rochana went on to become a Postdoctoral Data Scientist at the University of Edinburgh and is now about to join consulting company Valid Insights.
I was a cancer research scientist when I started my journey to become a data scientist and the support and advice I received from The Data Lab was exceptional.
Rachana Patel, Valid Insights
They supported me through every stage of the process from updating my CV and helping me prepare for my interview, to liaising with my academic supervisors at Heriot-Watt. The team also helped me identify a field of study and matched me with employers that could offer me the experience I was looking for.
Their guidance played a big role in launching my data science career and helping me secure a role at a global consultancy firm as their lead data scientist.