I completed my placement at Adidas within the Pattern-Making team for the Running and Specialist Sportswear department. I was excited by the chance to work internationally and living in Germany was both exciting and challenging, as I adapted to a new culture, routine and workplace environment. Although most communication within the company was in English, I also developed basic German language skills and became more confident communicating with people from different backgrounds.

Loughborough University provided extensive placement support including CV workshops, careers seminars, open drop-in sessions and employer talks. They also advertised placement opportunities through Loughborough's careers portal and on an external job boards.

I took a proactive approach to finding a placement by independently researching roles, networking and making speculative applications. My tutors encouraged me to explore brands I was interested in working for, so I found the placement opportunity through the Adidas careers page. This reflects the level of hard work and patience required to secure a placement. However, the knowledge and skills gained after completing a year in industry makes the time and effort worth it.

During my placement, I significantly improved both my technical and interpersonal skills. I strengthened my abilities in CLO3D, Illustrator, pattern making and undertaking presentations, while also learning digital pattern-making software such as Gerber. Adidas also offered workshops through its MakerLab, where I explored laser-cutting, printing and apparel testing techniques.