Bioscience Sandwich Student Placement Review

I really enjoyed my placement at AstraZeneca, both learning and developing new scientific knowledge whilst having the opportunity to live in Sweden for a year. Amazing experience to be surrounded by so many great scientists and be responsible for my own research project and work that was actually having an impact on drug discovery projects within the company.

Everyone was very kind and welcoming, always available to answer any questions and help you find your way around the lab. I was asked by many colleagues to perform experiments for them or help them with data analysis / experimental set up relating to my expertise so that was great and made me feel like my knowledge really was valued.

As this placement formed the master's year of my degree I got support and guidance by my supervisors when writing up my dissertation and guiding my project and research into different areas. As expected, people are very busy so help was not always instantaneous but I always got my questions answered.

Extent of business varied as expected. Alongside my own project I was in charge of running a specific assay for the whole site, meaning my work load varied depending on demand. No matter how busy I was there was always time for a coffee break!

I was given a lot of responsibility very quickly which, although scary at first, has been excellent. I was in charge of my own project and learning/developing the skills I needed to complete that as well as being given sole responsibility to run assays for current drug discovery projects. This meant I had to attend project meetings on my own, present my results and provide ideas about how best to proceed, with my thoughts and results being taken seriously by others.

Gained so many valuable skills, both science related and otherwise that will be very helpful in the future. Got experience of working in the pharmaceutical industry, real insight into drug discovery, enhanced time management skills, alongside independence, resourcefulness and adaptability that will be useful in any job. All these skills will greatly benefit my in my career and would have been very useful for my third year project if I had done this placement as a sandwich year.

The atmosphere in the office was very chilled and laid back, with the open plan setting making it very easy to ask questions. I worked in quite a small department so the office was rather quiet, although not necessarily a bad thing as was easy to concentrate when doing a more complicate task. Everyone go along well, went for coffee every day and played Innebandy (swedish indoor hockey) and boules together as part of AZ tournaments.

Pretty well organised. Got help with relocation to Sweden, setting up bank accounts etc alongside good introduction to the company. Got included in the IMED Graduate Program Induction Week which was very beneficial and gave the opportunity to meet younger people in the company. Always had someone to contact with any questions.

Excellent opportunities for both personal and professional development. Able to attend all seminars on site, with both internal and external speakers. Opportunities to attend courses to improve softer skills such as work life balance, time management. Many opportunities to present own research at project and department meetings and feedback from this very useful for personal development.

Future employment prospects within the organisation are very appealing, it is such a fantastic company to work for and I would love to continue working here to gain more experience in different areas of science. AZ really care about their employees and being a great place to work and this really comes across when working here.

Yes. AZ Youth is a sort of society that exists with AZ Gothenburg and has been an excellent way to meet people of my own age and socialize. We eat lunch together every day, go out most weekends for after work drinks, clubbing, exploring Sweden. Despite being only 4 placement students on site, there are about 25 graduates, many PhDs and post docs, making a large group of people to socialize with.

Sweden is a very expensive country, both in terms of cost of living and socialising but that doesn't stop anyone taking advantage of all the many bars and restaurants Gothenburg has to offer! Whilst certain things are expensive, many things are subsidised or free that would not be the case in the UK e.g. amazing transport, beautiful parks, gardens, outdoor swimming so that makes up for the cost of other things!

Nighlife is really good, with there being so many bars that are open till 3am, with the full range of fancy cocktail bars to the more classic pub. There is quite an extensive clubbing scene too but clubs are very expensive and some of the best clubs have an age limit of 23+, but there are ways to still get in especially if you have older friends!

Yes plenty of opportunities. AZ itself has many different societies that run activities at the weekends such as the walking club, running club, film club etc. AZ Youth members will always do something at the weekend too. There are also a range of sports clubs in the city to join as everyone is very active, for instance running, football, tennis clubs. The department I worked in also organised activities outside work and even a ski trip.