Maria Stopnikova's placement year at Lucidity London

This is a guest blog from Maria Stopnikova. Maria is an International student studying at Royal Holloway School of Management. As part of her 4 year BSc Management with Marketing (Year in Business) she has just started her 3rd year out on placement with Lucidity London. 

Lucidity London is a marketing consultancy providing advice, planning, research, web design, brand identify and print services to businesses. Maria is reporting to the Managing Director and actively involved in implementing creative solutions for a number of client accounts. She is working with creative teams, digital agencies and print suppliers. 

Maria talks about a number of the marketing projects she has been involved in and demonstrates some of the promotional material she has helped produce. 

 Here are Maria's answers to the questions we posed:

How did you find the application process?

It was quite hard for me to coordinate all my studies and work application process, although the overall process I found enjoyable. Because I live outside the campus for two years so far, I mainly spent time on campus for seminars and lectures and my own readings in the library. The rest of day I used to spend on my own research and everything else to meet the standards of YIB program. 

What recommendations would you make to those Year in Business students starting in their 1^st year at Royal Holloway and their 2^nd year?

To those students who just starting their 1^st year at Royal Holloway I would recommend first of all to concentrate on their studies. From my own perspective (as international student), I was driven by my own goals of getting the most from lectures and seminars, as well as my own learnings. I believe that while you just begin getting into your responsibilities as a student, you may find yourself under the risk of overestimating campus activities, Student Union communities etc. Unless you have a 100% productive time management (which you may find hard to achieve), my recommendation for you would be first look at your studies and what you really understand by being a successful student!

At your second year in Royal Holloway you already have a clear picture of what to expect from your studies and how much time you would spend to get everything done. For those who wish to complete a Year in Business program, the second year is very much crucial in terms of both your studies and work application. One of the helpful sessions provided by RHUL I would say is CV writing process where you can find how to make a good CV relevant in conditions of UK rules and restrictions. However, it’s you only who can make your application process successful. So besides your studies, please do your own business world research. If you wish to get a worthy work experience, try to start thinking of it at least one year before and don’t be driven only by other people’s opinion – this may be not applicable for you!

What is your job title and what projects will you be working on?

My job title in Lucidity London is Junior Analyst and I work on several projects in different industries: luxury food industry (caviar), music industry etc. Some of the projects will require travelling in few months’ time. In particular, I have just made a visit to Germany to find out more about how the caviar farm operation works. Overall, those projects which I’m engaged in are very different and interesting to work at. 

How have your first few months been on your placement?

That’s technically been the first month of my placement so far. I had a great induction week which was full of new activities such as administration work, getting in touch with new people, understanding upcoming projects and ideas. Besides I’m constantly learning something new along with amazing practical experience, so this year is going to help me with my final year at RHUL as well!

What has been the best thing so far about your placement?

One of the best things about my placement is that my work requires academic knowledge and digital skills that perfectly meet my field of studies. Besides, working on few projects require meeting senior people, much travel, as well as great opportunity of being creative and open-minded – amazing experience (I hope you would agree)!

What else would you like to say about the Year in Business programme at Royal Holloway?

I’d say just try to put all your effort into this year and find it pleasant and contributive to your future career!