Industrial Placement Student Review

The placement year at the GSK Stevenage site was really enjoyable because it is the largest GSK R&D site in the UK, and one of the largest pharma R&D sites in the UK. It meant there are over 130 students here, which makes for a very sociable atmosphere. The scheme is well established at the site, meaning the structure of the placement year, support from staff, and first introduction day were all well organised, and it was easy to acclimatise to a full working week alongside university studies.

My project for the year was unfortunately unsuccessful, however despite this I still feel valued by my colleagues. Following the university report hand in, they have offered me the opportunity to get involved in current research within a team at GSK, for which they believe it might be possible to publish data externally. Because of this, I feel like a valuable contribution to the company.

In monthly group meetings, the other placement student in my office and I took turns to present our project's progress. In these sessions it was very useful to receive guidance and support from my colleagues. My supervisor was a busy man, however I was able to work at the desk next to him so could ask for help and advice whenever he had the time. He'd often check my progress and data, however allowed me to work independently in the lab to help me to think for myself how to come up with solutions to set backs.

Some days I would be run off my feet in the laboratory, however towards the end of my placement when writing up my project report I was allowed a lot of time to complete desk work, which could be quite boring, but was very beneficial overall. I had complete control over my time, and therefore could generally be as busy as I chose to be.

To start off with I was given very little responsibility, however in the latter half of the placement I was given the responsibility of helping to train a new member of staff with different laboratory techniques, and have been told that I might soon have the opportunity to supervise an intern for two weeks.

To learn that I must seize and seek out opportunities for myself within the professional working environment has been very enlightening to me; at university the lecturers and laboratory supervisors create learning plans and structures for your research, whereas in industry you often have to seek these out yourself, generate your own plans, and hold your colleagues to them with reminders because the work atmosphere is just so busy.

Relaxed - we're allowed coffee breaks when we chose, play our own music in the laboratory, and students and managers alike will often have friendly conversations about work and our personal lives in equal measure. Whenever someone leaves to get another job, they will bring in cake for everyone they have worked with previously for a final send off which I think is cute!

The overall placement was organised very well - the summer before we started placement, the agent who employs the students at GSK organised a "intro day" where we students were put up in a hotel and given a welcome pack containing information about the town and estate agents etc. This was great for meeting the other students, as - with the Facebook page set up for the students on placement year - we were able to organise a meet up the night before in the wetherspoon's pub before hand. The next day we were then given a lecture on site about what to expect and health and safety, before being given the opportunity to meet our supervisors. It made starting work in September a lot easier. The projects for the placement students vary greatly though - some students have their own project from start to finish, and some have multiple short projects on the go at any one time.

My managers and supervisors were very invested in me and the other placement student in the office in terms of our personal training and development. We'd each present at alternate monthly meetings, where the shared knowledge of our colleagues would help us to think of solutions and next steps within our own research. My manager was readily available to offer help and guidance, as were other expert scientists. I was given support by my colleagues with working out what I want to do when I graduate (my placement was during a 4th year integrated masters as apposed to a sandwich placement), and helped me with my applications for PhDs.

The PhD scheme at GSK has been very attractive for many students here and a number of them have applied - one IP student was successful. Personally I was more interested in doing a PhD in academia, and have been accepted onto a 1+3 PhD programme at Imperial College London. The future leaders programme (FLP) is the graduate scheme here at GSK, and at the moment it has got very limited opportunities for students interested in pursuing a career in R&D, particularly for biologists. The only options available for industrial placement (IP) students to apply internally via the IP recommendation process included schemes in general manufacturing processes and office based regulatory affairs etc. There are options to apply for a regular role (i.e. not as a student or graduate) via direct entry: a system wherein employees and students at GSK may apply for roles which are either not publically advertised, or with the recognition that they already work for and have experience at GSK.

This was one of the best bits about the placement year at GSK - there are over 130 students on site, and with the industrial placement student Christmas ball and summer boat party in London set up by IP Unite (the student-led committee), and a Facebook page set up by the agency which employs us (SRG), it was easy to meet other students and organise things to do on the weekends. We often have house parties, go on nights out in Stevenage, Hitchin and London, and a smaller group of us have been on two holidays together thus far because Luton International Airport is just a 25 minute drive away, and later this year a few of us are going to a festival together. Overall, I'd say this has been an incredibly sociable and enjoyable year.

Rent and utilities (not including council tax) were approximately £450pcm for a room in a shared house in Stevenage. The canteen provided lunch ranging from £1 (soup or chips) to £5 (meal), and there are large Tesco and Asda supermarkets central to the town. The cost of a return travel card (including tubes and busses) to London is approximately £16 on a week day and £10 on a weekend if you have a railcard. Gym memberships vary from £20pcm to £45pcm. There's a free shuttle bus to and from the GSK site and train station at the start and end of the working day. Pints in pubs range from £2.80 (Wetherspoons) to £5. Compared to universities up north, living here is fairly expensive, however we earn enough money on placement to meet the overheads and have some money left over for socialising.

We have one road with plenty of pubs on - the High Street in the Old Town of Stevenage. This is generally where people go for a pub crawl or pint after work. There's a small club there called Venue and a pub called the Mulberry Tree often has a DJ set on. The New Town has another 'spoons and a retail park which has a club called Bar and Beyond. The drinks prices there are only cheap up until the end of happy hour - apart from that it's fairly expensive, but it's probably the biggest club in Stevenage and we went a lot at the start of the year. We've often gotten taxis (£15 Uber) to the next town along called Hitchin, which has a decent club called Osinkey's, and a few nice cocktail bars. We've also gone out in London a fair amount because the train can get you in to King's Cross in about 20 minutes, and the last train back is around 1 am, or we also stay out until the first train back in the morning on a weekend, which is usually about 4 or 5 am.

Most students I know here have gym memberships, either at the gym on site (not free though!) or one in town, and there are also lots of sports clubs at the gym on site such as football, netball, basketball, and circuits. Stevenage also has the Lister Hospital which a couple of students have been able to volunteer at. Because we are close to Luton airport, if you love travelling working at Stevenage is perfect! There are lots of cheap European flights available from Ryanair and EasyJet, so groups of us have been on trips away a lot. We're also very close to London and so it'd be easy to get involved in activities in the city after work.