Industrial Placement Student in Adaptive Immunity RU Review

I thoroughly enjoyed working at GSK in my placement year. I felt fully welcomed in the culture of GSK. My placement (lab-based) work challenged me and consequently I felt it was very rewarding. My supervisor was very clear at teaching me the necessary skills to succeed in the lab, so that I was able to work independently throughout my placement year.

I felt really valued my by colleagues throughout my placement year. If I had any questions in or out of the lab they would happily answer them for me. As well as this, they gave valuable feedback on my data that I generated and contributed ideas for future experimental design/data analysis.

I got extensive support throughout my placement year from my supervisor. He taught me the fundamentals of the program and pointed me to the relevant papers. After this he guided me through experimental design and taught me crucial laboratory skills. Once I completed experiments, initially he helped me to interpret data, until I was able to do so independently. I received useful feedback throughout the year based on my progress - which has allowed my confidence to grow and develop my analytic skills as a scientist.

Throughout my placement there was a nice balance between laboratory work and office based (administrative) activities. Personally this balance kept me busy enough to be able to take part in seminars, lectures and developmental activities as well as my project work.

Throughout my placement I was responsible for my laboratory research in the wider program. This gave me the ability to interpret my own data and alongside my supervisor make decisions in which the directions my experiments should go in. As well as this, it gave me responsibility to correct any experiments that did not go to plan.

I think the skills I've learnt at GSK will help me once I return to uni and then undertake postgraduate study. The GSK values have taught me how to integrate into a large corporation and interact with colleagues. My laboratory skills have given me a strong basis to build upon once I return university. Without this placement at GSK, I would not have gained confidence in my lab and data analysis skills, which have set me up for a future in science.

I really enjoyed the office atmosphere in my department at GSK. It was primarily hot-desking, which I found amazing to network and talk to other colleagues who were outside of my program team.

My placement was extremally well organised. Throughout the onboarding process the information we received was clear and concise. During the year, there was a dedicated colleague who ensured myself and all the other students in my department were okay and making good progress. We were able to approach him about any worries/concerns throughout our placement.

The company/department invested a lot of time into myself and the other students. The one to one training given by my supervisor in laboratory skills, set me up for the rest of the year. As well as seminars, lectures, courses that we were able to attend in the GSK community. These thoroughly increased my scientific and personal development.

Personally I would like to work for GSK after I've completed further study/PhD. This is due to the supportive culture of GSK as a company and their drive to bring medicines to patients. Other programs (such as FLP) were also thoroughly encouraged to us as placement students.

The social scene at GSK was good. There was a strong community amongst placement students across all departments. As well as this within our office there were frequent socials which allowed us to network and get to know other colleagues which didn't work strictly in our team.

Stevenage was a reasonably cheap area to live in. The socialising, likewise, wasn't expensive.

The nightlife in Stevenage varied. There was a vast array of pubs/bars in the Old Town but there was a lack of nightclubs. However, this wasn't a particular problem as the pubs were ideal.

There were plenty of opportunities to fundraise for local charities.