Industrial placement student- medicinal chemistry Review

It was a really enjoyable year. I had several opportunities to really push myself and felt like I learnt a lot. My practical chemistry skills seemed fairly limited when I started but I improved so much being in the lab everyday with great help from my supervisor and other team members. Although the job was obviously challenging and hard work we met loads of great people including a big group of fellow placement students so the social side was also good.

To start with we were obviously a burden as we needed so much training and help but we were never made to feel like that. By about half way through I felt like I was making a genuine contribution to the team. The work we did was really valued but I would have liked to have been involved in more of the decision making process and meetings related to what we would be doing next.

My supervisor was fantastic. He always had time to help me and made sure I understood what I was doing as well as my longer term goals. He never made me feel like my questions were stupid no matter how many times I asked. The other supervisors were also really helpful sharing their knowledge and tips.

Obviously some days were busier than others but I was given the opportunity to manage my work with goals for the week so I was able to plan and time things so I could avoid having too much on at once. There were occaisional times when I didn't have much to do but I could always go and ask for more work.

I was given responsibility for synthesising my list of compounds, obviously with the help I needed. We were trusted to make decisions about processes and safety measures which was great. I would have liked to have more responsibility but obviously safety precautions limited us. I think we were expected to take responsibility for as much as was viable.

I learnt so many practical skills that I have already found useful going back to uni. As well as the direct knowledge I think the presentation skills I have gained will be really useful in my final talks and poster presentation. I got used to working a very regular timed day and so now my work ethic has improved a lot. This and the other transferrable skills will be useful this year and in the future.

Everyone was very friendly and the lab was usually a lively place with music and lots of people to chat to. Occaisionally it would be a bit quiet but that was usually when people were away. There were lots of students on site as well so plenty of people to eat lunch with etc.

The internship was very well organised and it was clearly a long running scheme. We were given lots of training and even had a residential lab training week when we started. It was clear who to go to if you had any issues but it seemed to run very smoothly. There were some issues with miscommunication between the company itself and the subcontractor we were actually employed by so it could have been improved there with slightly clearer communication but overall it was very well set up.

We completed lots of designated training when we started with a week of residential as well as lots of sessions at work. The other team members also spent a lot of their time helping us, especially at the beginning. I had regular meetings with my supervisor to discuss my progress and how to improve and was always encouraged to take opportunities outside of my day to day job like tours and an exchange with a student in a different lab for the day. The placement was very focussed on our development.

We were encouraged to find out about the company as a whole, not just the role we were working in. We were also given the opportunity to register our interest/apply for graduate jobs although a position was in no way guaranteed which was understandable given the number of students on placement each year compared to the number of positions available.

The other students were probably the highlight of the placement. There were around a hundred just at our site and more in other places so I met lots of great people from all over the country and abroad. We regularly went out in the evenings and organised several trips ourselves, which being so near to London was especially good for. I even went on holiday with a group I met! There was a student committee who organised socials for multiple sites on a fairly regular basis as well as a big Christmas ball and leaving Thames river cruise. We went on several pub lunches and evening events with the full time employees in my department as well.

The cost of living and socialising was variable. We were very close to London so obviously trips out there and to some of the nicer places around were pretty pricey but stevenage itself was very affordable and my rent was about the same as at uni, although I know some people's was significantly more. It was definitely affordable on what e were paid although we did spend a lot and I didn't manage to save much!

Stevenage itself had a fairly poor nightlife in comparison with uni towns with only one, awful club. It had a few pubs which were ok and we usually managed to have a good night out anyway but that was usually down to the people rather than the place! We had a couple of nights out in London which were good but very pricey and a bit of a trek home. Hitchin was good for a classier evening too.

We organised lots of activities ourselves but there were also opportunities after work. There was a sports club with a 5 aside league and weekly netball session among other things. There were also plenty of opportunities to get involved with in the local area. I joined an orchestra with a couple of girls from work and there were plenty of gyms and sports clubs around.