Discover the Passionate Minds Driving the Research & Development Virtual Work Experience

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Ellie Cooke, Senior Scientist I

Martyn Robinson, Senior Food Scientist I

Kate Rose, Scientist I

Tell us about yourself and your career journey so far at MDLZ.

Ellie: I started my journey at Mondelēz International as an Intern in July 2018 at the age of 21. I was studying at the University of Bath, and as part of my degree I was required to complete a placement year in Industry. I thoroughly enjoyed this internship as a Product Developer and was delighted when I was offered a position to return after finishing my Masters in 2020. I joined a new team looking into the customisation of chocolate, where I got to see the products I had made shared with the public – very cool! Following this I spent 18 months within the Productivity team, where I had the opportunity to travel to Austria and Denmark for factory trials of the project I was working on. I have recently moved into the Mindful Snacking Team and am excited to see where my career will go from here!

Martyn: I am a Senior Food Scientist at Mondelēz International. My first 15 years of work experience were as a chef in 4 & 5* hotel kitchens. I then went on to run a commercial bakery for 10 years making cakes and biscuits for cafés. In 2010 I joined Cadbury in a Global product development role and worked on many product launches including Marvellous Creations, Oreo and Dark Milk. Since then I have worked in Regional product development and in productivity. My passion is running extra-curricular educational outreach programs which Cadbury has allowed me to do for the last 10 years, working with schools and universities to inspire the next generation of food scientists and engineers.

Kate: I started at Mondelēz International when I was 17 as an apprentice in the R&D Pilot Plant Team. I began undertaking my Level 3 apprenticeship in Food Science & Technology. I started to learn the basics of chocolate making, tempering, and depositing and supporting product developers with their work making samples for various tests. After the completion of my level 3 apprenticeship, I stayed with MDLZ to begin a Level 6-degree apprenticeship in the same field. During this time, I moved teams to the Mindful Snacking Team where I focused mostly on the development of “healthier for you” offerings to our portfolio including launching the first Cadbury Fruitier and Nuttier range. After 12 months in this team, I moved to global process to gain knowledge in how to make our chocolate processes more efficient and sustainable and completing my degree apprenticeship, before moving to my current role in MEU Tablets. Its been an exciting 7 years completing my apprenticeships and being in several varied roles within R&D and looking forward to continue to grow and learn in different roles.

What inspired you to pursue a career in Research & Development (R&D)?

Ellie: I was very unsure what I wanted to do as a career when leaving school, however I knew I loved Maths and Science. This led me to study my degree in Chemical Engineering, which I knew would open lots of doors to me in terms of career opportunities. Having investigated the different industries Chemical Engineers enter, such as Pharmaceuticals and Oil & Gas, it was the Food & Drink industry that stood out to me. I’d always had an interest in working with food, having worked part time at an ice cream parlour during A-Levels and then setting up my own cake business whilst at university. I loved the idea of combining my love of food with my love of math and science and so that’s why I applied for my internship at MDLZ!

Martyn: R&D is a natural fit for me as I am a curious and creative ideas person with a creative background. I have always been passionate about solving complex problems and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. R&D allows me to explore new technologies, innovate, and make a real impact on the world.

Kate: When at school, I was unsure of what was next or what I wanted to do and didn't know the broad range of roles that were available across many sectors. I decided to stick to what I enjoyed which was cooking/baking or anything to do with food generally. This led to me completing a 1-year bakery course where I was then exposed to MDLZ as a company, through an in person work experience programme they were running at the time. I learnt about what they did and how the product development process worked. It was really exciting to see how much technical science knowledge and creativity is involved and I decided to pursue this by then applying for their Level 3 apprenticeship.

What made you want to be part of the R&D virtual work experience week?

Ellie: The main driver for me wanting to be involved in setting up R&D Virtual Work Experience (VWEX) was that when I was at school and university, I had no idea about the vast range of careers available within the Food Industry. It wasn’t until I joined MDLZ that I got a full understanding of the different opportunities and areas you can go into. VWEX was therefore a great opportunity to raise awareness of careers within the Food Industry for the next generation of students, and it was lovely to see how curious and interested they were to find out more.

Martyn: VWEX is something the team and myself created from scratch during covid. We sought out best practice from many different industries and used teaching staff from local schools to help guide us on the content, where and how to pitch it, and how best to communicate with the student participants to ensure they got the most out of the experience. I am passionate about creating opportunities for young people and sharing my knowledge and experiences of the food industry. This initiative has grown and evolved over the three years we have run it and will continue to do so.

Kate: I had seen the previous years of virtual work experience being run by my colleagues and loved the way that the virtual element allows young people from all walks of life and locations to be involved in this unique experience. I am also a huge advocate of any way that shows young people the broad range of jobs and roles available as this was something I wasn't aware of when I was younger. Virtual work experience is a great way of sharing an insight into what we do and show how diverse the roles in the food industry are.

What was your highlight from this R&D virtual work experience week?

Ellie: A highlight for me this year was the level of engagement we received from the students. Each session throughout the week was led by different experts in their field, and the students took the chance to ask each presenter a number of great questions, showing clear interest in the topics and making the most of the opportunity. I love that we cover so many different areas within Product Development such as Packaging, Consumer Science, Process, Marketing & Sales, and it’s clear from the engagement that there is something for everyone! On the Friday afternoon, all team members in each group worked together to present their product ideas which made for an impressive display of knowledge and understanding built throughout the week, and further involvement and teamwork from the students. Another successful year!

Martyn: I love to see the level of engagement rise throughout the week as the students start to ideate their virtual products, then learn how to make and pack them and then market them too. The student working groups are great to observe and I love to see them collaborating and sharing ideas. The highlight of the week is the Friday afternoon when all the groups present their finished ideas to a panel of judges who select winners. The quality of ideas and presentations are amazing. Many have started to use Computer-aided design (CAD) and artificial intelligence (AI) in their presentations, and they grow in confidence throughout the week so talking aloud and coming on-screen is ok for them.

Kate: My highlight of the VWEX week was seeing just how much hard work and effort the students put into the week and how interested they were in each session. They were set tasks to complete by each subject matter expert from role playing in groups for consumer science to understanding the regulatory compliance of the product they had developed. In each task, they all got stuck in and were eager to show just how much information they had gained and retained. This then all accumulated to the Friday finale in which they presented in their groups, their final product idea to a group of judges who were blown away by talent and hard work. I was so proud to see their confidence grow throughout the week.