My primary motivation for joining the Full Switch programme was to gain a real sense of how consultancy works, as I hadn’t participated in similar activities at university. I was looking for a comprehensive experience, from start to finish, of a consultancy project. The programme certainly delivered; it exceeded my expectations. The team dynamic was also excellent, which I think is crucial for the success of such a programme. The skills and experience I gained have been valuable; I’ve added them to my CV and, particularly I found the project management training session very helpful. It will be very valuable as I will be writing research grant proposal applications, as far as I am aware of, setting milestones and work packages are essential for planning a research project.

The Full Switch programme emphasised the power of organisation and project management and it convinced me that Ph.D. programmes should include project management as a core module. The structured approach of project management expedites tasks and streamlines workflows even in academia’s flexible timelines

I particularly enjoyed the conversation with Alicia (guest speaker – Management Consultant) and her perspectives on what type of research business needs. It was also helpful to hear Hellen’s story (Code-Switch Founder) and how it is very possible to pivot from your plan A – to a successful plan B!

The opportunity to engage with pre-session activities during the Short Switch programme highlighted and focused the learning outcomes and augmented each session. I felt inspired that the skills I am garnering and honing have real currency within and beyond academia…I feel empowered to keep pushing forward and develop my ideas.

Quick Switch was a great programme. The explanations of what consultancy and project management actually ‘are’ and some really tangible examples of what you would do day to day were brilliant. I now feel more ‘qualified’ to read job descriptions and attend interviews for these roles and feel like I have a good understand of what the roles entail. The job tips in the last session were also good: advocating for informational interviews and the tip around how to search on job websites were useful.

The Knowledge Exchange and impact session was particularly interesting and very thoroughly explained all of the key terminology whilst providing some examples of how to produce research with impact/ Knowledge Exchange as a key focus

I liked the clear breakdown of sessions in the Quick Switch course and the practical tips I can apply to my own career path in consultancy, knowledge exchange and project management

My current job involves engaging clients, understanding their pain points, and offering solutions. Although in a different field, this is exactly what the Code-Switch consultancy project I participated in was about. Having the right scientific background for the job was very important, but I believe that showcasing the business competencies that I acquired through my experience with Code-Switch during the interview process gave me the edge to land the position.

Really enjoying working on this project and can’t wait to share our recommendations with Tracy!

Thank you Code-Switch Consultants for this brilliant experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed this 6month placement programme, learning from industry and our client John O’Brien, your programme (Hellen Parra-Flórez SFHEA Anna Brady, the project and my brilliant teammates Jingwen Zhang Seyi Awosika.
This programme had given a huge range of transferable and specific skills in #research #consulting #programmemanagement #communication
#engagingwithindustry that I am extremely grateful for and which will be invaluable to me.
I would highly recommend any #earlycareerresearchers and #phdstudent to look at this project to develop their skills and confidence in these and many more areas.
Thank you so much and I look forward to see where this experience opens up new doors in my career.

The Code-Switch experience provided really good training to me in terms of what I can do to make my research ‘REF-able’, what I need to do to translate my research into solutions for users in society and to demonstrate impact

I got a job directly as a result of doing the Code-Switch programme

Thanks Hellen! I feel lucky to take part in the program and have an experience of applying my research skill inthe business field. It’s a learning and rewarding journey for me. As a first-year PhD (in lockdown cohort), my teammates Seyi Awosika and Victoria Christodoulides are my valuable new friends who have given me so much support! Also, Anna Brady, Hellen Parra-Flórez SFHEA and Dr Katarzyna Kucaba, you three are a wonderful couching team! Appreciate a lot 🙂

Thanks Hellen! Congratulations on putting together a fantastic research programme. It was a pleasure working with you and the research team: Juliane, Lee, Meng, Emily! Looking forward to future projects.

Hellen Parra-Flórez SFHEA a big thank you to codeswitchers and the research team, we really enjoyed working with you all and got a great outcome from all your hard work, thank you from all at LCMB Building Performance Ltd.

One of the more challenging aspects of transitioning from academia into another career, is gaining work experience relevant to your target sector or industry. It’s the age-old problem of not being able to get a job without experience, but not being able to get experience without a job!
Fortunately Hellen Parra-Flórez SFHEA has set up Code-Switch Consultants (CSC) to help researchers crack this problem. By joining CSC’s Research Consultancy Programme, researchers get to use their skills and knowledge on real-world business projects, helping them to develop consultancy and project management skills and experience (see video).

This has been an amazing experience and big thanks to my fantastic research team Alexandra Ciocănel, Arinze Ekwem and Alina McLellan. So exited for the final analysis and insights. Great thanks to Hellen Parra Flórez SFHEA for all her support in helping me put the initial proposal together.

A great program to be involved with that will add value to your companies development! Knowledge share and business
tranformation impact to BreachAware® that will be carried forward to its client base.

Thanks Hellen! Congratulations on putting together a fantastic research programme. It was a pleasure working with you and the research team: Juliane, Lee, Meng, Emily! Looking forward to future projects.

Hellen Parra-Flórez SFHEA a big thank you to codeswitchers and the research team, we really enjoyed working with you all and got a great outcome from all your hard work, thank you from all at LCMB Building Performance Ltd.

One of the more challenging aspects of transitioning from academia into another career, is gaining work experience relevant to your target sector or industry. It’s the age-old problem of not being able to get a job without experience, but not being able to get experience without a job!
Fortunately Hellen Parra-Flórez SFHEA has set up Code-Switch Consultants (CSC) to help researchers crack this problem. By joining CSC’s Research Consultancy Programme, researchers get to use their skills and knowledge on real-world business projects, helping them to develop consultancy and project management skills and experience (see video).

This has been an amazing experience and big thanks to my fantastic research team Alexandra Ciocănel, Arinze Ekwem and Alina McLellan. So exited for the final analysis and insights. Great thanks to Hellen Parra Flórez SFHEA for all her support in helping me put the initial proposal together.

A great program to be involved with that will add value to your companies development! Knowledge share and business
tranformation impact to BreachAware® that will be carried forward to its client base.