Phil Starling

Business area: Public Sector
University: Liverpool John Moores
Major: BSc (Hons) Business Information Systems
Year started: 2007

What got you started?

I applied to a number of organisations for my Industrial Placement, but after hearing that the work-life balance was really important at Logica, I was really pleased when they offered me a placement. I began learning the ropes by working on updates to the intranet and getting involved in bids, before moving on to a more substantial project for the Health and Safety Executive.

What did you get out of your placement?

My placement gave me experience of working in a new sector (Public Services) and working across three government organisations plus a financial services organisation. I moved to a new city where I didn’t really know anyone, so the combination of this and working with new clients was a huge boost to my confidence. It also really helped me in my final year. I got used to working from 9am to 5.30pm so when I went back in my final year I stuck to those hours to make sure I got my work done!

I stayed in touch with my Staff Manager after my placement and, as I was nearing graduation, was told about some really interesting project work I could get involved with. So it was an easy choice to go back.

What are you doing now?

I’m working on a pilot scheme for one of the major London hospitals, implementing Business Process Monitoring software. Because the government is setting hospitals targets to reduce waiting lists, we are implementing a piece of software that works with the hospital’s existing software to provide reminders. Our software records the referral date and treatment date deadline and sends out reminder emails to the consultants involved that a patient is nearing the end of their 18 week wait.

What’s next?

My current project is still at pilot stage, but if it takes off then I’ll be the specialist in that field and could potentially have a small team of people working under me. Not bad for a recent graduate!

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