Regulatory Affairs Biosimilars Undergraduate Review

I have really enjoyed my time during industrial placement, it has been an invaluable experience. It has allowed me to gain so much experience working in a business environment, as well as gain an insight into the pharmaceutical industry. I have been able to participate in so many volunteering and fundraising events, as well improve my confidence through my outreach as a STEM Ambassador.

During my time on placement I have had the opportunity to work with the most amazing people, who have made me feel like a part of the team since day 1. Everyone at our site is incredibly welcoming, and everyone in our team is really supportive of one another- both with work and also socially. We have taken part in so many events together and I am really sad to leave them, but I have made some great friends who I will keep in contact with and hopefully work with again!

My manager has been incredibly supportive this year, I could not have asked for anyone better. During this year when I have had personal problems my manager has been incredibly supportive and treated me like any other colleague. She has also provided me with the invaluable opportunity to work as part of her team and I have had many opportunities to gain experience in my role in regulatory affairs.

There have been times where I have not always had a busy schedule- but I think this is the same with many placements. However, there have been many opportunities to work independently and do my own research to gain experience in regulatory affairs as well as participate in outreach work. It is a great opportunity to experience how to manage time efficiently in a business environment, as in regulatory affairs no day is the same and some times there will be a lot of pressure with a heavy workload that you need to manage effectively.

Depending on what I was working on there have been a lot of opportunities to work both independently and closely with my supervisor. I started off reviewing documents at first but then progressed to compiling my own documents which were reviewed by others. I also had the opportunity to create a work experience programme for a group of year 12 students who spent the week with us at our site, and I carried all of this out on my own which was a large amount of responsibility as they have never had work experience students at our site before.

I have gained so many invaluable skills from my time on placement. Effective time management will be essential when returning to final year, as well as self-assurance and confidence in my own abilities. It has also given me great experience and business orientated skills that I can use in any business environment in careers after university, but especially in regulatory affairs which I hope to continue working in after my degree.

Our office is incredibly welcoming and everyone is really supportive. We all get on really well and everyone is willing to help one another especially when things are stressful; however we also get on well and socialise outside of work, taking part in volunteering and charity events and going to football matches and pub quizzes together.

Pfizer is really well organised with their placement programme as they have had undergraduate students for many years and take a large cohort each year. Throughout the application process, interviews and on boarding process everything was incredibly efficient and throughout my time on placement there has always been someone to contact if necessary. The only thing I would mention is that being at another site other than the main headquarters sometimes means we are left out from events or notices but this is the first time our site has had undergraduates so that will hopefully improve in the future, and I have really enjoyed my timing at our site instead of the main one.

There have been many opportunities to develop by both knowledge in regulatory affairs and in the pharmaceutical industry as a whole- even though my placement has been in one particular area I have had the opportunity to learn about many other business functions which has been a great experience for the future. We are also treated like any other colleague and so have been able to learn about Pfizer whole and what it means to work for them, including embodying their values and participating in good corporate citizenship. This personal development is great for future careers, particularly if we want to return to work for Pfizer.

There are many roles within different business functions at Pfizer, and there are great opportunities for career progression. I am not sure how many entry level jobs there are for new graduates, however having all of the experience from a year in industry is great and I think that there would be the opportunity to come back after finishing university if there are job openings.

At our site there were just 2 undergraduate students so we didn't have the social aspect of living with other undergraduates like at the main headquarters, however everyone in my team is lovely and we all get on really well. I have made some really close friends that I hope to stay in touch with and hopefully worm with again one day. We all make an effort to try and socialise at work, going out for pub lunches for celebrations and having a coffee morning every Thursday. Those of us who live near each other also socialise a lot outside of work, going to football matches, out for food and to pub quizzes. It has been a lot more social than I would have imagined and I have loved it.

The area where we are based is very expensive, especially in comparison to where I am used to living. However the salary from this year has been really good and has enabled me to be able to afford to live down here. The cost of socialising can be a lot more than other cities, however because we are so close to London and Reading there are opportunities to travel to other areas and try things for free for example museums and galleries. There are also lots of really nice areas to explore in the countryside.

There are a lot of nice local pubs in the are where I live, but as it is a small town there are not many clubs or bars. However with such close proximity to London and Reading it is really easy to find places to go out especially with more students- it is worth bearing in mind that drinks are a lot more expensive though.

Pfizer offers so many opportunities to take part in outreach work as part of its good corporate citizenship programme. They offer 5 paid volunteering days each year which we are encouraged to use, and we have taken part in many events as part of a team including planting 450 tree saplings for a local children's hospice at their new site. We also take part in a lot of charity and fundraising work both inside and outside of work, including the Thames Path Mighty Hike for Macmillan, Pretty Mudder Runs for Cancer research UK and fundraising for Children in Need. Also, during my time here I have become a STEM Ambassador and taking part in a lot of outreach work in local schools, talking about working and studying in the STEM industry and leading activities with the students that enable them to learn about the process of medicine development.