Industrial Placement Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year since the people in the company were very supportive of my work and helped me learn and gain new skills in the area of science I was working in. I also met many new people establishing valuable connections. I would recommend GSK to anyone who wants to develop professionally.

I felt very much at home while I was working at GSK due to the positive attitude of everyone around me. My colleagues were always very friendly and supportive of my work, making the work environment a very enjoyable place to be at. I could not have asked for more.

My supervisor gave me the right amount of attention, being supportive and helping me with techniques that were new for me, while at the same time letting me do most of the work on my own after I have been given enough introduction to the topic. This let me acquire and practice new skills in a very stable manner.

I had plenty of tasks on a daily basis, ranging from doing experiments in the lab to analysing my data at my desk and going for a wide variety of department or team meetings. This ensured that I get a proper feel of what an industry-based science job is like, but I also wasn't excessively busy to the point where I wouldn't be able to do my work properly.

I was given a moderate amount of responsibility since I was doing a project related to what the department might be interested in the future. I am glad I was neither given too much nor too little responsibility because either option might not have been ideal for an undergraduate student who's just getting hands on experience in science.

The skills I gained range from interpersonal and presenting soft skills, to very specific Immunology lab techniques. I believe the skills I gained during my placement year would last me throughout my whole scientific career and would be directly translatable to my final year masters project and to my application for PhD.

The general atmosphere in the office was very good. A perfect balance between serious and yet relaxing. People were allowed to chat with each other but if you wanted a silent space where you could focus there were areas for that as well. I think this was very important to ensure an enjoyable yet adequate workspace.

My project was very well organised and the support I was given was enough to make the transition points throughout the year seem very adequate and natural. There was at no point the feeling that there is too much, or too little stress being put on you as both situations would prevent the placement student from fully developing their new skills.

The company allowed me enough freedom to think about and plan my scientific experiments while at the same time my senior colleagues were helping me with insightful feedback and comments when I was having difficulties. I was also never restricted as to how much experimentation I can do, which I find very generous.

There was a very good social scene amongst the fellow placement students, apprentice students and other GSK colleagues with regular social events which were either student self-organised or company organised. There were two Industrial placement student Balls and a Christmas Ball organised by the company, ensuring a pleasant and enjoyable placement year experience.