Industrial Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed my project. I had a very supportive team leader who allowed me to explore lots of chemistry around the remits of the project. I found the work interesting and was always given the opportunity to learn more about areas I was interested in. In addition, I learnt an enormous amount just through working amongst highly experienced chemists.

People were always kind and respectful towards me and generally made me feel very valued. There were the occasional people who would sometimes be a bit condescending towards me but this was very rare. I did find that as a result of being an intern I was sometimes criticised more harshly than full time employees.

My manager was incredibly helpful throughout my placement. At the start of my placement he introduced me to a lot of the new equipment to help me get settled in. However, whilst being supportive my manager was keen not to mollycoddle me and have me think critically for which I am extremely grateful.

I was quite busy on a daily basis but I personally like being busy. I always had a mixture of lab and writing up experimental work to be doing. In addition, I had several meetings throughout the week which tended to be a mixture of project meetings, tutorials and departmental meetings.

For the majority of my placement I was the only chemist working on my project which meant I had quite a lot of responsibility. This taught me a lot in terms of time management and how to prioritise my work. However, my responsibility never felt overwhelming as my project manager was highly supportive and helpful.

I think this placement exceeded my expectations in terms of both my scientific and professional development. As a process chemist I was taught how to plan and conduct experiments to gain the most information about the system I was studying. I was also taught to utilise tools that are more prominent in industry compared to academia. For example, I learnt how to use Design of Experiment to enhance optimisation of experiments. Professionally I was able to develop better communication skills through delivering presentations and presenting my results in meetings.

The atmosphere in my office was friendly. People would bring in cakes and share them around and would go for tea breaks together. Not everyone in my office worked in the lab so I got to meet people with non-based lab roles and learn more about what their work entails.

The placement was well organised. The Bristol trip was really useful not only in terms of learning more chemistry but also getting to know other students. I was the only intern working in my lab/office but through the trip I had a set of friends to meet up with for lunch.

The company investigated significant amount of time to my personal development. As a result of being the only intern I felt that my colleagues enjoyed mentoring me, be it in the lab or career development. I was constantly pushed by my peers to do presentations or other activities to contribute to my professional development.

From what I saw there was limited future employment prospects and even for GSK full time employees there seemed to be limited career progression. However, I think this also varies significantly between departments. GSK do offer graduate roles but these are limited and highly competitive. Moreover, many direct entry positions require further study hence would not be available to me.

As a result of there not being very many things to do in Stevenage I think many people went away on weekends. This means there was a limited social scene and much of social life revolved around going to Whetherspoons. I did make quite a few friends with pHD students at GSK as well as meeting other IP sudents.

The cost of living in Stevenage can be quite varied. I lived with three other IP students and this reduced my rent considerably. I know some people lived alone and payed extortionate amounts on rent. In terms of socialising many people go to London. The train between Stevenage is not very cheap (approx. £6-10 return).

I believe Stevenage has a single club although it isn't very popular. Most people went to London for clubbing. The IPs did organise a few nightlife socials such as a boat party and cocktail party which helped boost the nightlife for students. I think many people went to house parties or whetherspoons.

I got involved in badminton during my time at GSK. I would play after work at the sports centre on Mondays. This was a nice way to meet people and network! I also participated in the tough mudder which introduced me to a lot of other people. I think there are lots of things to get involved in and will definitely find something for you!