Biology R&D Industrial Placement student Review

I really enjoyed my placement at GSK as it gave me a real insight into a leading pharmaceutical company. I worked with lots of friendly people and found it easy to ask for help. I enjoyed that my work was challenging and I was forced to step out of my comfort zone. Overall I would definitely recommend applying to GSK for a placement.

I felt a very valued member of the department, especially as the year progressed and my responsibilities increased. Often more senior colleges would come to me for help with an area of science they weren't experiences in which was nice. All the placement students were also invited to the department Christmas party, orange day (department volunteering day) and the team build event which really helped us all to feel a valued apart of the department.

I was given lots of support by my supervisor especially as I had limited laboratory experience before starting placement. As the year went on and I gained more confidence I was trusted to complete many things on my own but was always aware that I could ask for any guidance if necessary.

This definitely depended on the wee. some days I would be so busy I barley had a chance to breathe but other days were slower. There are always people willing to give you work to do if there isn't anything specific going on. Most people are also up for you to shadow them to get experience of a particular lab technique etc.

I was responsible for completing a routine experiment every week, analysing the data and sending it to a members of a project team. As the principle scientist for this I felt like I was given a large amount of responsibility however my supervisor was always on hand for advice if anything went wrong.

As I worked in research and development the laboratory experience I have gained while being on placement will tremendously help with completing my research project in final year. Having laboratory experience is also very useful when applying for lab based jobs after graduating university. Problem solving skills I have gained will also be beneficial even for non-lab based jobs.

My office was quite relaxed and contained people from a variety of different departments. Food was often brought in to the office from peoples holidays/ birthdays. Most people were friendly but focused in completing their work.

As the GSK placement scheme has been running for so many years it was very well organised. There is an opportunity to come to an introduction day before placement starts to meet your supervisor and visit the site. Each placement student is given a project to complete through out the year and is expected to write up a report at the end. This gave focus to the year and a goal to work towards.

Received all necessary training for laboratory working and general codes of practise within the company. Also had the opportunity to go to many different talks and poster sessions. There were also several opportunities to come to placement student specific talks about future carers and how to write a successful job applications etc.

I really enjoyed my year at GSK and would definitely apply to work there in the future. I am unsure how likely this is however due to not many graduates being hired and the likelihood of requiring a PhD to work in the department I completed my placement in. I would also be interested in working at GSK in a non- lab based role.

The site I worked at had many placement student (at least 50) and therefore there was quite a lot of parties and pub visits. Although there wasn't a large amount to do there were still a few pubs and one club to visit. I had no problems socialising with people as I lived in town but I know some people who lived further away (lived at home with their parents etc) found it more difficult as they couldn't stay out late.

My rent was very cheap, especially considering the fastest train to London is only 20mins. Compared with were you go to university it may be more expensive but it was considerably cheaper than my accommodation at university. Food/ drinks were pretty standard prices for the south. Generally cost of socialising wasn't notably more expensive or cheaper than what I was used to.

Several pubs and one club with the option to get the train into London and go out there (first train back at 5am). I'm sure there were also clubs in the surrounding towns but I didn't visit any of those. Several pubs include 2 whetherspoons and some more local pubs.

There are a few sporting clubs that regularly meet at the company gym after work such as netball and football. Several department organised outing also occurred (self-funded) such as bowling and mini-golf. Also the chance to become a STEM ambassador and help with STEM activities outside of the work place such as going into schools etc.