Following the success of last year’s ‘Apprentice-style’ laboratory challenge, 'The Analyst' is back.  

The task? Working in 8 teams, 33 students from the ‘Pharmaceutical & Chemical Science’ and ‘Analytical Chemistry with Business’ degree courses had to assess the performance of a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column, use the data generated to create a product technical note and then create a brand identity, marketing leaflet and pitch their product to a panel of experts.

In a significant change to last year’s challenge, the students were actively assessed throughout the process with the event sponsors, Phenomenex, taking a central role.  As well as assessing the technical note and marketing flyer, representatives of Phenomenex  observed the teams throughout the day and helped judge their final pitches.

Dr Bhavik Patel, lecturer at the University of Brighton’s School of Pharmacy and Biomoelcular Sciences, and creator of The Analyst said,

“The students all enjoyed the experience, developing their communication and scientific skills.  Getting feedback on their performance direct from potential employers will help enhance their employability”

Alisha Harriot, 2nd year pharmaceutical and chemical science student  was skeptical about the value of the task initially, but was won over.

"At first I thought the challenge was pointless and unexciting. I didn't understand why it was included in our module…however during the task I learned quite a bit about the central topic, HPLC columns; the properties required for optimal performance and how these were modified and manipulated across different models and brands. I also gained some team work and time management skills in the process. By the end of the challenge my perspective had changed completely…I believe the experience was thoroughly worthwhile." 

Ben Johnson, Environmental Specialist at Phenomenex was delighted to be involved.

“This was the second time that I have attended ‘The Analyst,’ and I had the great pleasure in taking part this year. It was a very enjoyable day and it was fantastic to see how the current undergraduates at the University of Brighton understood the technique of HPLC, something that I deal with on a day-to-day basis. The marketing pieces and pitches were well thought out and I feel it gave them a real insight into today’s current HPLC/UHPLC market. What really made my day was the amount of people that spoke to me after that day had finished and asked what it requires to do my job as a Technical Sales Consultant.”