Developability and Automation Industrial Placement Student Review

I loved it. I was given the level of responsibility I required and the level of support I needed. My team were really friendly to me and I found my work really interesting - it was very different to my university work. I was also able to learn more about the organisation in general.

I felt valued by my team on most occasions, and feel that the work I produced was useful to my team and will continue to be in the future. They were also very friendly to me. I also felt valued by colleagues outside of my team that I worked with.

My supervisor gave me the level of support and guidance that I required. This varied throughout the year, with more support being given closer to the beginning of the year when I needed it most, and much less being given closer to the end of the year when I required less support and guidance. When my supervisor left during the last few months of my placement my team stepped in to manage the change and ensure I was still given the required level support.

There were some occasions where I was more busy than others. This seemed to coincide with more busy times in the organisation, and this was likewise the case when I was less busy. However, I never felt overloaded by too much work or had nothing to do, and if I had my team would have managed it.

I felt I was given the appropriate level of responsibility throughout my placement. I was supervised closely near the beginning of my placement to ensure that I was able to work safely in the lab and as I learned new techniques. After I got taught the appropriate techniques and was able to work safely the responsibility I had was increased, and by the end of the year I had taken responsibility for my projects.

The training I received in the lab is directly relevant to the type of work I would like to be doing after my degree, and while the job i had was very different to my degree many of the lab skills carry over. I felt the skills that I learned, such as presentation skills and organising a volunteering day for my team, will be directly useful to anything I do in future.

My team were wonderful. They were supportive if I ever needed any help at work and I was invited to team organised events outside of work as well. Many of my workplace colleagues that were not a part of my team were also very friendly and supportive, whether I worked with them directly or not.

There were a few parts of the set up that required me to ask for permission to have access to. This seemed unnecessary as all of the permissions were auto granted when requested but it took a few days. This does seem to be an overall organisational issue however rather than an issue with my placement specifically.

Both my organisation and my team specifically placed a large amount of emphasis on ensuring that I was able to take part in the training and development that I wanted to and that they felt would be useful to me. SRG and IP unite also invested heavily in development of IP students including me.

I would love a job with GSK in future as I have loved what I have been doing this year. I would certainly like to apply for a job that is similar to the one i am doing currently however I would also apply for jobs in the chemistry R and D area.

With other IP students there seemed to be a good social scene with the Christmas party being the highlight, and a summer boat party as well, in addition to regularly organised outings. I didn't attend most of these functions as I didn't want to, however the Christmas party was enjoyable. My team had several outings during the year which I found very enjoyable.

Stevenage is near London so the cost of living is relatively high, particularly the rents. However, my salary was also appropriate to this cost of living and I was able to easily support myself and have money left over for socialising just from my salary.

There were a few clubs where the placement students went to however this was not really something I cared about much.

I was aware of many opportunities however I took advantage of few of them.