Industrial Placement Student Review

I enjoyed the experience of placement, while gaining experience within the pharmaceutical industry; however I was not 100% enthusiastic all of the time. Most of the time I had little work to do, due to the nature of my department, and even asking for extra, this didn't improve. Overall I have enjoyed my placement, although not always 100%, I do understand the value it will be to me in the future.

My team and the wider group of people situated within my office were very welcoming and helpful, particularly with my project. Due to the nature of my project, work was sporadic at times; colleagues tried their best to offer me other side projects, although this was difficult as my department has no routine work with I could help out with. The wider site valued my help with STEM activities, arranging for younger school children to visit. It is sometimes more beneficial for IP students/apprentices to help with these activities as the closer age makes the work more relatable to their situation.

In the beginning the training given was very thorough, covering the majority of techniques and training you may need over the course of the placement, however, a lot I did not use. Due to a reorganisation, my supervisor moved to a different department and is now based on another site, to which my project was based. This made him giving guidance on my project difficult; I had to ask help for other colleagues within the department, who were very supportive. I feel I was always contacting him to arrange meetings and conversation was very one-sided; sometimes I felt I was a burden. There was not as much support and training throughout the year. Furthermore as a result of the reorganisation, myself and another student were given the same supervisor and project. I feel this should have not been the case and more effort should have been made to rectify this issue. On a positive note, my colleagues were always willing to help whenever possible with any queries I had. Furthermore, my supervisor

On a daily basis I was not busy; my department had no routine work to be getting on with and many permanent staff had their own studies on, which I was not trained to be able to help out with, Due to the nature of my project, work was irregular and I often found myself with not work to do that week; the next week could be very busy. I did not like the time management; I was often waiting for other things to be completed which were out of my control before I could continue.

With the work I was given, I was given a lot of responsibility, once something has been shown to you once you are expected to get on with it yourself without guidance. Obviously you are expected to ask questions if needed. During my project I was given a good amount of independence and it was truly my work which I enjoyed. Extra work to my project was directly related to GSK studies, and I was responsible for producing the results, which were used in conjunction with other data from the team, to help make an informed decision on future work. This helped me feel part of the team and that my work mattered.

I skills I have developed on my placement will greatly help me in the future; my report writing, presentation skills and general teamwork and communication have vastly improved. The lab specific skills I have gained will benefit me when applying for graduate jobs after returning to university. My degree includes my placement year and in particular my project counting towards a Masters degree, I feel this higher level of degree with greatly help when looking for jobs.

The atmosphere in the office is really good. I was treated like a permanent member of staff and left to get on with it. We had a weekly cake rota which kept everyone’s spirits high, especially throughout the reorganisation. The office is quite chatty and regular tea breaks included conversations about activities outside of work helped to give me a break.

In terms of GSK as a whole, staff are very experienced in having placement students. Training and inductions at the start of the year were organised well and a student committee is set up called ‘IP Unite’ to help students get to know each other. My department didn’t seem as organised. At the beginning, laptops were not ready so I spent a few days sharing laptops during training sessions which is not ideal. There was another student in my department and there were not 2 projects or 2 supervisors for us, so we had to share. I feel this should have been decided before we arrived as is had hindered our workload and impacted the whole placement experience.

You had the opportunity to visit other departments if you were interested in the work to help you gain understanding of other areas you may want to work in the future. However, this was done off your back and was only a suggestion from your supervisor. In terms of training, we completed all necessary courses to work within a big pharma research lab, which will be useful for future jobs. However this will still need to be repeated in future.

There are very little future employment prospects within R&D. The majority of the staff based at the Ware are over 35 years old and have worked there since finishing school. These days many people suggest a PhD is required for work in research and without this there are few opportunities. GSK does offer a ‘Future Leaders’ graduate scheme in many departments, however as the name suggests, you are only suggested to apply if you would like to be a manager and not work within a lab. The scheme is open to placement students and external candidates, with the majority of scientific schemes requiring a masters/PhD. It seems questionable why they would choose an undergraduate degree over a postgraduate degree if they had the opportunity and so little graduates are taken on compared to placement students. The application while on placement is also upon managers recommendation so unless you have a good relationship with your manager, this may not be an option. However, the scheme can be applied for once you have finished university if this is the case. Nevertheless, there is a direct entry database, which you can put your details on to be contacted within the next 2 years about direct entry jobs.

Amongst many of the placement students there was a good social scene. 'IP unite' is run by students and organises events such as the Christmas ball in London, and a boat party in May. There is also a good social scene amongst sites, as there are often a large number of students at each site which meet up for drinks at local pubs or go to the cinema/on nights out. IP students are often encouraged to organise drinks with the team on a regular basis as well as attend team lunches etc.

Ware is a relatively expensive place to live because it is a commuter town for London (50 minute train because it stops are every station!, £6.50 return with a railcard) Rent is roughly £450 a month plus bills and many houses come unfurnished. Houses are also normally 2 bedrooms because it is not a student town. There a lots of pubs along the high street which all do good food for relatively low prices. However the same cannot be said for drinks, these are usually £5 a pint and closer to London prices. There are no chain restaurants in ware itself and the high street is mainly made up of coffee shops and charity shops. Hertford (5 min train) has some clothes shops and general shops people usually need. However, I do recommend a car, although this is not necessary; if you live in Ware, work will only be roughly 15mins walk away.

This depends on whether you like going to clubs or just a casual drink at a pub. The pubs/bars in Ware are in abundance and many do open mic nights/quizzes weekly. Saracens Head is the IP’s favourite as it’s the cheapest for drinks and is situated along the river so has a nice bear garden in the summer. There are no clubs in Ware, the closest club is in Hertford, but is only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday and only stays open until 2pm. As it is the only club around, it gets very busy. For a good night out, London is not far away, although the last train back is 11:30pm, or the train to Hertford is 1am, but a 10 minute taxi ride after.

GSK has a subsidised gym on site which is very popular after work times and classes are free. The benefit of working over university is that there is no work in the evenings or weekends, leaving plenty of time to do other things or visit family. Around Ware there is not that much to do that doesn’t require a car, expect the train into London for the day.