Bioscience Undergraduate Industrial Placement Student Review

I enjoyed every day and especially the balance between desk and lab time. The only slight issue for me was the number of meetings, which occasionally were very samey and irrelevant to my placement.

The team I was placed in were very friendly and helpful, everyone stepped in to help each other out if needed. There were many different specialities within my department so there was always someone available to give advice if needed. Senior scientists were always appreciative if you gave your time up to help and I got a lovely thank you card in the post from the head of the project team I worked with after I left.

My supervisor was brilliant. We were well matched and he gave me the space to find my feet independently but was always there for a chat if I had any problems. The help and guidance he gave me throughout the year was invaluable and we're still in touch. The management were also very supportive and let us know how we were doing.

I was able to structure my day myself and so I worked out a balance of lab time and data analysis to suit me so I never got too bored at my desk or spent to long on my feet in the lab. Obviously towards the end of my placement, there was a lot of extra work to do to make sure I had data for my report, however any extra work I took on was on my own initiative.

I was responsible for all the 'wet work' during my placement and I was allowed the freedom to decide which experiments were necessary. My supervisor helped me to understand the area in which I was working enough for me to have significant input and I often worked alone, giving me a lot of confidence in the lab.

Apart from my laboratory skills, which have come on immeasurably. I have the confidence now to talk to senior scientist about my own ideas. Additionally my communication and data handling skills have dramatically improved.

The open plan environment meant for a chatty and relaxed atmosphere, however we also shared space with another group in communications. This could be quite frustrating, especially if you were trying to concentrate on difficult data, as they spent a lot of time gossiping loudly and playing music.

The placement has been successfully run for a number of years and we were integrated into the company effectively, with little issues if any.

The company put a lot of time and effort into training the undergraduate placement students. We were able to attend many seminars and conferences to learn more about the broad diciplines available in research. Personally, I felt the most valuable help was with how to write scientific papers and present posters. There were also a number of free training sessions we were able to attend for computer based systems such as Excel and Powerpoint, which I found especially useful.

I will be applying for their graduate program in October.

Most of the students live in Macclesfield during the placement and as such the social atmosphere is similar to university. Additionally, the AZ freshers group help integrate all the placement and graduate students and hold social and academic events.

Macclesfield is cheap enough and there is a Wetherspoons. Getting a train into Manchester is not too expensive, especially with a rail card.

There are a number of bars in Macclesfield which was enough for me. It was easy to get a group together to get a taxi back from Manchester if a bigger night out was planned.

Club AZ is great for getting money off activities and events. Again AZ Freshers organised many fun things to do and drinks and other events were arranged between offices and departments on a regular basis.