Summer Student Review

I enjoyed my time at GSK Montrose greatly. The site has a large amount of ongoing projects, presenting a multitude of opportunities to be involved with. I was placed in the automation department, which played a large role in the commissioning of two new plants. This meant that there was always new and varied work to be done in assisting the buildings. As automation plays a large role in the day to day production within plants, I was able to receive incites into process engineering and general chemical engineering systems.

The team I worked with were all very welcoming and friendly. I always felt appreciated for work I did, as the team had a large volume of work to get thorough with tight deadlines. Gratitude was often given when these deadlines were made, or when particularly long tasks were completed.

My supervisors / co-workers were very helpful and knowledgeable about their subject areas. Any questions that I had about the site or work I was involved with was always explained well and thoroughly. The management team were also helpful and friendly, and would check in every so often. Technical issues were dealt with promptly.

I always had work to do in in the department, between supporting the engineers with the two new buildings, and the technicians with day to day operations. The two buildings required a lot of automation support which is where the bulk of my work came from. The work given was almost always different in some way however, so even though I was almost always busy, it did not get stale.

I was given time critical pieces of work semi-regularly when supporting the two new buildings being built in GMS Montrose. I was given the task of 'designing' an instrument test rack, for which the responsibility was on myself to order parts and install them. In general I was not given much responsibility.

I have learnt a great deal with regards to automation and chemical engineering, however my degree and future ambitions (within electrical & electronic engineering) are not particularly closely aligned with these subject matters. The experience I have gained working in an engineering office and on engineering projects are invaluable however.

The office I worked in was very welcoming and friendly; it almost always had a warm atmosphere about it. The automation office had all worked together in some capacity for many years, meaning there was a large sense of camaraderie between them. People would often bring in sweets / snacks for the office which was always greatly appreciated.

Internship was set up easily. The automation team were not given too much warning however, so work was slow to begin with

The standard of training within GSK is very high. I was asked to take part in at least a dozen instructor led courses in topics such as "Good Document Practice" and "Sterile Manufacturing". In addition to this there were a large amount of online courses to take which covered many varied topics such as "Electrical Safety" and "Engineering Drawing Standards"

Being a part of the GSK graduate scheme seems very beneficial. The scheme gives 3 rotations around the companies large and varied portfolio of sites. These sites are often very different (Primary, Secondary, Packaging, Logistics, Research, etc) and often make very different products (vaccines, pharmaceuticals, consumer, etc) which would lead to graduates getting a wide range of experiences.

Fellow internship students often met up for lunch with graduates, and went to local bars on occasion.

The site resides in a small coastal town on the north east of Scotland, and as such rents are fairly low. If commuting too and from its closest cities (Dundee and Aberdeen) costs will be higher however. Trade cards are available which reduce already reasonably priced food/drink in some surrounding bars. The staff canteen is reasonably priced.

Being a small town, Montrose lacks a large variety of night life however there are still good bars, pubs and restaurants in the town.

Internship students and graduates would go for a meal or go to the pub on occasion.