Industrial Placement Student Review

I really liked working in the lab and I enjoyed working on the same project for a year and trying to find out how to make things work and how to improve them.

Everyone was really friendly, patient and helpful and would always answer the questions I had.

My supervisor was very supportive. We would discuss what I had to do and then I would do it on my own. He respected my ideas so I would suggest what I could do as well. When I first came here he was in the lab with me to teach me what I needed and after he made sure I was ok he would leave. It was nice knowing that he believed that I could do it on my own and that even if something happened I could ask for his help.

Due to the nature of my project I could be really busy one day and have to spend the whole day in the lab while other days I would not go at all in the lab. I had writing up to do on these days so I was still busy. There wasn't much of a balance between office work and lab work but I did not mind since I had always something to do.

I think I was given quite a lot of responsibility. I would discuss quite often my plans with my supervisor in order to decide what to do but I would work on my own in the lab.

I think the skills I developped are going to help me a lot in my third year project. Also, I think it helped me understand that experiemnts not always work and that I should not be disapointed which will be helpful for when I get a job after my degree. Finally, the fact that I now have one year of experience in the lab is going to help me a lot when it comes to applying for a phd or for a job.

The atmosphere was nice. There weren't many of us in the office so it was quiet. We would usually work while we were in the office but at some points we would stop and talk for a bit.

It was organized very well. There was a training course in order to teach us basic techniques that we would use at the beginning. They made sure that we were inegrated into our department and that we felt that we were part of the company and not that we would leave afte a year.

There were a lot of training courses we had to complete. Also, there were often lectures we could attend. Most of the lectures were very interesting and we got the chance to find out information about various subjects. Also, a carreers days was organised in order to find out what other options we have if we want to stop doind science later on in our lives.

They are very appealing. I really liked working here and I liked the environment so later on I would definitely consider getting a job here.

Yes. There were a lot of parties organized at the beginning with the other students so that we could meet each other. Also, there were lunches for the department and usually when it was someone s birthday we would all meet to eat cake and we had the chance to spend time with our colleagues.

Generally most of the things were quite cheap. Living in a house on your own though was quite expensive.

The town were I worked was quite small so there weren't a lot of things to do. There were pubs but there weren't a lot of nightclubs. London was very close though so we could go there if we wanted.

There were not a lot of activities you could do. There was a gym and a swimming pool in town so if you wanted to do any sports you could go there.