ISIS staff case study: Alex Gouws
07 Sep 2026 - Rosie de Laune
Alex is just coming to the end of his apprenticeship and about to move into a role in the ISIS design division. However, he originally began studying for an undergraduate degree in Maths during the Covid-19 pandemic before decided to change direction and begin an apprenticeship. “STFC stood out because it’s constantly innovating and always trying to do something new. I liked this idea of constantly learning,” he explains.
During his apprenticeship, he spent the majority of his time at ISIS but with short placements in Technology and CLF. “You get knowledge from seeing how the other departments work, and then you can bring that back into your home department. The apprenticeship and the rotations have taught me a lot about the world of work.”
In the ISIS design division, he has been working on two projects that are part of the Endeavour programme. For Super MuSR, he has been working on the design of the utilities interface, which is about to move to the build phase. He’ll then be working with the assembly team on the installation and alignment. He’s also just started working with the detector group and instrument scientists on the collimator for WISH-II. This project is in its early stages, in the prototyping / feedback loop.
My team, and the others across ISIS that I work with, are always open to questions. ISIS offers a strong ecosystem of support to its early career staff.
Alex Gouws
As he begins work on each of these projects, Alex is usually doing things for the first time and learning on the job. “I have to understand the science and theory behind each component and then apply it in my work – this is what drew me into working in design. My team, and the others across ISIS that I work with, are always open to questions. ISIS offers a strong ecosystem of support to its early career staff,” he explains.
“The size of these projects is initially overwhelming, but it’s rewarding to know that even your small piece of work is contributing to such a large programme of work. The big end goal helps keep you motivated and driving forwards.”
“Meeting other apprentices during your training year means that you already know people when you come to site, which is nice. Then as you work across different groups and departments, you begin to widen the network of people that you know,” he adds.
