Undergraduate Industrial Placement Student Review

The placement was challenging and highly rewarding. The work has prepared me for my return to university and provided experiences I'll definitely take forward with me.

I found my colleagues really willing to engage and always willing to be helpful. To an extent it felt like I had numerous supervisors since I could always ask for assistance from different people. My colleagues were always keen to involve me in social activities outside of work and I made plenty of good friends.

My supervisor was fantastic. Her door was always open and she really invested herself in my project. She dedicated so much time into mentoring me over the course of the year. Whenever I asked for assistance she was always there to provide it and certainly helped my development academically and professionally.

Workload can fluctuate significantly, some days are intense whilst others are more relaxed. It was hard to strike a perfect balance due to the nature of the work. This is also affected by time of the year and academic demands of the university.

I was expected to muck in as part of a team and contribute to group responsibilities as well as my own project. I was always free to take a step back and focus on my own work but group responsibilities were quite casual and helped me learn skills I wouldn't otherwise have learnt.

The experience I gained was exactly what I needed. I feel more prepared returning to university as AstraZeneca have events which allow you to practice presentation and communication skills, not just lab skills.

The general atmosphere in my office was upbeat since it was quite a close department. I can't comment for othet departments but we had weekly cake sessions in which the office get together for a prolonged lunch and ..eat cake.

The placement was well organised, with numerous events and demands planned throughout the year such as presentations and communication events. We were informed of these events well in advanced which allowed us to prepare properly for them.

The company invested in to a large extent. I was trained my different teams to learn different techniques internally. In terms of investing in my development through external courses or lessons, this didn't really happen.

If I applied for a job or graduate scheme position with the company this experience would certainly help secure it.

The other placement students were very social and engaging. My work colleagues were also keen to engage me in social events outside of work and I had plenty of fantastic nights out.

Restaurants near work were pretty high end and expensive. With some research relatively inexpensive and nice alternatives can be found, but more often than not you were paying high prices for food and drink.

The night life was good with plenty of bars and restaurants. There were no clubs in the immediate area surrounding work and required a short train journey to get to one.

AstraZeneca regularly set up activities outside of work with fundraisers and sports events all being easy to sign up to.