Biological Science IP Review

I absolutely enjoyed my industrial placement year. I was a part of Biological Science department and I was involved in molecular Biology work. I had opportunity to connect with people from different expertise and thus got opportunity to work in various different projects. I shadowed various Scientists in different departments, supervised school students and got involved in lots of presentations and seminars. We also used to organize lots of social events outside work. All the placement students from my department went to Portugal in the summer. We also went camping to Norfolk. It was very fun.

The best thing about GlaxoSmithKline is that you are never looked upon as a student by the department. For them, you are talented young employee. They give you opportunity to share your views and ideas. They encourage you to have entrepreneur attitude and come up with innovative ideas for your project. They listen to you and help you whenever you are in a problem.

The support provided to us was very overwhelming. The first two months were all about training and lectures about different IT programmes you might need during your placement year. Everyone is very helpful. There are so many talented people you can talk to inside and outside your team if you want any suggestions and advices. Everyone is very approachable.

I was fairly busy on a daily basis. Most of the time I would be working in a lab doing my experiments. Other time I would be in my office writing up my experiments. There was a good balance of lab work and office work. Also, there were a lot of meetings that I had to attend in a weekly basis.

I was responsible very much for my own project. I had to plan my own experiments every week. There was a monthly presentation which I had to give to my whole team. I was also given responsibility to supervise work experience students.

In today’s competitive graduate market, this experience is really invaluable. I have developed various sets of transferable skills through this placement - teamwork, leadership, communication, problem solving, decision making, presentation, planning and organization - which every employer is looking for. I also have a better understanding of the management structure in the industry, formulations and functioning of different departments and the working relationship between the employees and the management. I have also made some important industrial contacts which can be helpful and crucial in my future career.

Everyone in my office were really friendly and helpful. We used to have fun talks every now and then. People used to bring chocolates, cookies and cakes to the office during their birthdays which was pretty cool.

The industrial placement scheme at GSK is fairly organised. I was told about my specific project during my familiarisation day (two months before starting). However, this differs between supervisors. If your project finishes before time, you will be given opportunity to work in a different project. This is very appealing as you will get hands on experience in different techniques.

There were lots of training organised for the placement students during the first few months. In the first week,all of the students in my departments were given basic training and lectures. We were given certificates at the end of the training. After that, we were given individual specific training from our supervisors relating to our project. Furthermore, there were lots of workshops and seminars for the placement students for their personal and professional development.

There are various graduate schemes which we can apply to like finance, management, IT, regulatory affairs. As a placement student you can apply to fast track scheme where you can skip first few stages of application process but this depends upon which department you are applying for. For Science and Research there are no graduate schemes available as they will prefer you to have a PhD. However, during your placement year you build contacts with people which could be really beneficial if you want to come back in future.

IP Unite organised various events for the placement students working at different GSK sites. IP Christmas ball and Boat party were the main highlights.

I commuted from London as it was just 20 minutes train from Kings Cross to Stevenage. However, most of my colleagues rented a house which was pretty cheap. There are not much places which you can go to socialise in Stevenage except Weather spoons and Chicagos (club). Its a fairly quiet town, not much to do. Luckily London is just 20 minutes by train.

There is a club called Chicagos at Stevenage station which most students like going during the weekends. In addition, there are few weather spoons in Old and New town. I would recommend going to London if you want a proper fun nightlife.

Yes, there were a lot of opportunities to get involved in outside of work. I was supervising work experience students, giving tours to visitors, helping out during Science week. There is a company gym which you can become a member of in a reasonable price.