Industrial Placement Student Review

I enjoyed learning to use different lab equipment and techniques I would not have had the chance to experience at university. However, between lab experiments I would have liked more to do around the office etc. or helping with other projects as there were days with little to do (especially before Christmas at the start of placement).

Everyone in my department and people from othger sites and departments I met and worked with was very nice and very happy to help. My direct colleagues in my team and working on my project made the importance of the project especially clear which helped me to feel like a valued member of the team rather than being given a job no one wanted to do or which didn't really need to be done.

My supervisor was fairly helpful and supportive but had little experience in the technical aspect of what I was doing with HPLC-MS/MS which ended up being the foundation of my project. She filled out all of my uni feedback forms uickly and recommended people who could help me when she could not which was helpful as I didn't know many people, especially from other departments.

It depended on the day - lab days were typically extremely long (8-7) and very busy the whole time whereas office days while waiting for supplies or supervision if necessary were very dull as there was usually little work to do. This was mainly as I had no uni coursework to fill this time and little paperwork from my one project.

I was given a lot of independence and considering the wider applications of my project this equated to quite a lot of responsibility as it underpinned collaborative work the company is doing for a consortium. However people were happy to help so I was not isolated doing the project alone.

The techniques and practical skills I have gained will be invaluable to me for my final year practical project at uni and if I pursue a career in research as I currently hope to. My data analysis and report-writing skills I have worked on here will also help with these. In a more general sense I have improved my communication, independence and teamwork soft skills which will boost my employability.

The office was generally quiet and not very chatty despite being open plan and hot-desking. People tended to sit in the same place every day and were often quite cliquey with people they already knew which was difficult for a student who has only just started and doesn't know anyone.

The timeline was set out at the beginning that the practical work would begin in January and write up in June/July; however, setbacks to the project have meant it has changed several times and deadlines pushed back later (though this is not a problem with the original plan). There was little to do before Christmas based on this plan however which left me bored and could've kept the project on track better if we had started earlier.

The company has given me a lot of training in specialist areas and in using pieces of equipment I would not normally have the chance to use even at university such as mass spectrometry. Based on this, they have invested quite a lot of time and resources into my training.

I have enjoyed my work here and would consider working for the company in the future - however the Future Leaders Programme has no positions I am qualified for or want to do (ie. lab-based R&D work) and other positions are generally only for Masters of PhD students which I will not be qualified for after BSc graduation next year. I may be interested in direct entry depending on the roles available at the time.

There were about 14 students at my site and another 20 at the GMS site next to it. We didn't interact much with GMS IPs but those of us at R&D have been friendly and meet both within and outside work (eg. for meals, nights out and pub quiz) so the social aspect hasn't been too bad. There is little to do in the area though.

The cost is quite high for housing and drinks etc. as it is near London and no student housing or furnished properties are available. However, we are paid the London Living Wage (and are slightly outside London so a bit cheaper) which makes the higher prices affordable so it is relatively comparable to student life. The main expense is travel as there is nothing to do in Ware so nyou have to get a train or drive everywhere.

The nightlife was extremely poor - there was one club in the next town over and it was not a good club. The train times also meant a night out in London was not possible without staying in London overnight. There were a lot of bars and pubs in the town though so it was ideal for bar crawls.

The STEM Ambassador Scheme allowed us to do non-work activities such as help at the Big Bang Fair. However, there were very few work events to attend and socialise with the team or others (a Christmas team drinks in London and a summer weekend event). I would have preferred more social opportunities.