Drug Product Supply Undergraduate Review

Really enjoyed my placement, had so many opportunities to experience areas I hadn't even considered as a career. Was given full responsibility of projects so have become more confident. Loads of social events as well and was able to live with other undergraduates, which you don't get in lots of placements.

Such a great department and everyone was so helpful, fun and encouraging. People were always willing to train me on new pieces of equipment should I need them and offered support in analysis and characterisation areas which I had had little experience in before I did a placement. Everyone was always up for doing activities outside of work as well.

Perfect balance of support when I needed it, but also letting me find my feet on my own. Meant that I have learned to find things out for myself, rather than always relying on someone telling me what to do. My supervisor always arranged meetings 1-2-1 when I started new projects to allow me to ask questions if needed.

At the beginning I wasn't that busy, so it could be hard to always find something to do, but that was just because of all the training I had to complete before working in the manufacturing area etc. As soon as I was able to start my projects, it was very self-driven so I could always add something to my work and so I was very busy in the second half of the year in particular.

I feel all of my placement has been very self-driven and I have been able to take my projects in the direction I chose. I have done lots of training externally on pieces of equipment meaning I am now a subject matter expert in a certain field in my department. This has meant that people often come to me for advice, which I had never expected before my placement.

I have had so many opportunities to learn new things that I could never have learned at university, such as analytical techniques, and manufacturing in a GMP area. This will be so valuable in my future career should I go into pharmaceutical development after university. I have also had much more experience in presenting and research paper writing, which will aid me in my final year, and in a job in the future, whatever area its in.

Everyone here is really good fun, always helpful when you need a hand but also up for a laugh as well. Training was quite hard at times but the people training me always made it fun and the general atmosphere in the office is very supportive, with an understanding culture.

At first, the general direction of my project was a bit up in the air, and with pieces of equipment breaking etc it meant that it wasn't as clear as I had expected it to be when I came. But this meant I could take it in the direction I wanted and have learned to go out and get training on things I needed rather than just expecting it to be done for me.

Paid for huge amounts of external training and invested a lot of time allowing me to work independently on my projects. Also supported my university work really well, so I have been able to get a lot more done than I had expected. Also paid and supported conferences and writing of reports and posters for publishing.

Unfortunately the grad scheme is not in an area I am particularly interested in, so this wouldn't be an option for me really at this stage. However, lots of people get jobs here after their final year, and so I hope to do that as well, working as a contractor.

There are over 30 undergraduates at Pfizer, so there was always someone wanting to go out and do something in the evenings and at weekends. I was also able to live with other undergraduates, which was a massive bonus for me when I was choosing a placement, as its nice to not live alone.

Much cheaper than where I was at university so it was good for me, however, I had to have a car, so this ended up being quite a large expense. Rent was very cheap and drinks and food were cheaper than where I lived in a city so wasn't awful.

Very bad nightlife in the particular area I lived in, but didn't matter too much as its only £6 to get to London if you book in advance. Also Canterbury had a few bars and clubs so was easy to go out if you wanted to, just that taxis home could be expensive.

Yes, there are plenty of things like the cinema, and pubs in the area I lived in, so you can always do that in the evening. But mostly I ended up just getting much more involved in sports that I had started at university, so was good for that kind of thing as well.