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Second-year BSc Criminology with Data Analytics students Lok Sham Leung and Arnaaz Brar share their experiences of working on industry placements and gaining new skills

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City St George’s Q-Step Centre is addressing the UK’s quantitative skills gap amongst social science graduates.

The centre is one of 17 across the UK and is based in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at City St George’s.

Every year, students from a range of undergraduate programmes have the option to join a data analytics pathway with the centre and take part in a graded placement where they apply their data skills in the workplace.

This year, 30 students took part in placements across an exciting range of public, private and charity sector organisations including the British Council and the Children’s Commissioner.

In these placements, students applied skills such as data extraction and cleaning, trend analysis, statistical modelling and data visualisation.

Lok Sham Leung is a BSc Criminology with Data Analytics student who worked on a ten-day internship at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen). As the UK’s largest non-profit social research organisation, NatCen conducts high-quality social research to inform society and policy making.

Lok Sham Leung

During the internship, Lok Sham worked as part of the Community, Work and Income team and her tasks involved analysing data and publishing reports to provide insights. Reflecting on her time on the placement, she said:

My time at NatCen showed me the ways in which social research can enhance citizens’ lives through policy-making. Participating in important projects during my placement gave me the insight that datasets are not only numbers; they are related to people’s real experiences and aspirations.

Arnaaz Brar

Fellow BSc Criminology with Data Analytics student Arnaaz Brar also completed her placement this year and found the experience to be “incredibly eye-opening.”

Arnaaz worked at SOS-UK, a student-led charity focused on sustainability, wellbeing and social justice. She worked within the Drug and Alcohol Impact (DAI) team, which aims to change student perceptions and behaviours around drug and alcohol use while promoting healthier campus cultures.

My main task was analysing survey data from universities across the UK that are part of the DAI programme. One fun aspect was team lunches - these gave me the chance to chat with the wider team and ask questions informally. It made me feel like a valued part of the organisation rather than just a temporary intern.

“During the placement, I learned that I genuinely enjoy working with data in a policy and social research context which was something I hadn’t been sure about before.”

On whether she would recommend the opportunity to others, and discussing the benefits of the placements for organisations, Arnaaz said:

Absolutely. For students, it’s an amazing opportunity to apply what we learn in lectures to real-world research that has the potential to shape university policy and improve student wellbeing. It helped me bridge the gap between theory and practice and gave me confidence in my analytical and professional skills.

“For industry partners, placements like this are a great way to engage fresh perspectives and support students who are passionate and skilled in areas like data analysis, research and policy. I would especially recommend this placement to anyone interested in social justice, education reform, or sustainability through a research lens.”

This month, the City St George’s Q-Step Centre hosted a poster exhibition celebrating the achievements of students like Lok Sham and Arnaaz who recently completed industry placements. Students presented posters detailing their work and attendees were able to speak directly with students about the quantitative tasks they undertook, offering a rare insight into the day-to-day work of social data analysts.

Arnaaz and other students presented their work on the placements at a recent poster exhibition

Dr Matt Barnes, Director of the City St George’s Q-Step Centre, emphasised the value of these experiences:

We want to see our students develop their statistical expertise and confidence in collecting, analysing and interpreting social data – as well as gain important vocational experience by applying their knowledge in a professional environment.

The exhibition formed part of the School of Policy and Global Affairs’ broader commitment to professional engagement, including its Festival of the Professions initiative, which brings students into contact with practitioners through guest lectures and events.

Find out more about Sociology and Criminology at City St George’s.

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