During the Summer of 2024 I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to pursue a placement with OxeHealth. OxeHealth is an Oxford university spin-out that provides and develops tools for contactless patient vital sign monitoring. OxeHealth’s products and solutions are used by the NHS and capture accurate physiological data entirely contact-free. For my internship I was placed in the research and development team of the organisation. In particular I was working on the development of machine learning tools for company internal use within the research team. The project progressed well and culminated in a presentation to the entire research team in the penultimate week of the placement.
The placement was of particular interest to me as it allowed me to dive into applied research and development work with a non-academic institution. I was particularly excited to work in such a context. Given the nature of university spin-outs, I was also keen to work as part of an organisation that closely integrates fundamental research with the development and deployment of products in real world settings.
I think a highlight of the internship was that I was able to work relatively independently on a genuinely interesting research problem. Moreover, I was able to participate in /contribute to the scoping of the project in the beginning of the placement. Despite this independence, I benefited greatly from collaborating with others as well as from the daily supervision from two senior team members. I think this mixture of independence and collaboration allowed me to take real ownership of my project while working as part of a bigger team. Overall, I felt like my prior research skills and contributions were highly valued and welcomed throughout the placement.
Due to my doctoral research I was already well familiar with the use of standard machine learning libraries and had extensive experience in the visualisation and communication of potentially complex quantitative data. These skills proved to be very useful throughout the placement and helped me to get up to speed with my project. While I greatly appreciated the opportunity to transfer and apply my knowledge, I am also grateful for the many new challenges and learning opportunities this placement offered. One of the most fundamental things I learned was how software is developed and maintained in non-academic contexts. I do write a lot of code in my day-to-day research; however, it was very useful to see how version control, and code reviews are effectively used on larger, collaborative projects. Furthermore, I learned about the research and development process at scale-ups, where projects and milestones are managed in a highly structured manner.
For anyone who is thinking about doing a research placement, I highly recommend it!
I think it is a great opportunity to step out of the academic bubble for a bit while developing key skills that might be absent from training in your doctorate. A placement with someone who values your skills can also help boost your confidence and show you
how relevant your skills really are beyond academia. The placement helped me to gain perspective and broaden my skillset regardless of specific later career ambitions.
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