Summer Placement Student-Project Engineering Department Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my summer internship at GSK as it enabled me to meet lots of me people, network and develop my skills. I enjoyed the work environment and how anyone was willing to help but felt a little limited in what I could do within my work department due to how busy everyone is.

I felt valued by my colleagues as I was invited to numerous meetings and colleagues went out of their way to be helpful and help in settling in. Some colleagues made me feel more valued than other but I understand that due to time constraints I wasn't able to work with them as much.

I was supported throughout my time in GSK by my fellow workers but I was given responsibility to complete certain tasks. However, if I needed help and support all I had to do was ask. I had regular updates and meetings with my manager to discuss my experience and whether there were other departments I was interested in visiting.

How busy I was varied on a day-to-day basis. Some days I was extremely busy and other days had hardly any work due to managers being needed to work on projects. However, I found the quieter days useful as it enabled me to update my own work and answer all of my emails. I did some work for a variety of people within my department so there was always something to do.

My levels of responsibility increased throughout my placement. At the start I was given limited responsibility but as time went on I was responsible for sourcing information for projects for my manager as well as responsible for making sure my departments documents complied with the accountability standards set out by GSK.

The main skills I built upon were communication both verbal and written. I learned how to talk to people in the workplace and how to ask for help off people as well as how to address people in work varying from other placement students to department managers. This will assist me in my degree as communication is important in all aspects of life.

The general atmosphere in my office was that it was well organised but relaxed. We had flexible working hours and everyone would be happy to help you or sit down and have a discussion if you didn't understand something. The office was highly focused on ensuring everyone was comfortable and able to perform in there working environment.

The placement was well organised but there was lots of paperwork to complete before I started. There were numerous documents I had to read after starting to ensure I knew the site health and safety. As the placement progressed, it did become less organised as people had to focus more on their individual projects.

The company took me on as a summer placement student and offered coaching at the start but there was a lack of continuation throughout the placement. There wasn't set monthly personal training and development sessions. However, there were instructor led sessions I had to attend for aspects related to my job.

Future employment prospects within the organisation are promising within a different department more related to my degree. However, it depends on whether I decide to pursue a masters degree, work full time or ideally work whilst studying for a masters. This organisation offers multiple interesting graduate schemes that I will be applying for.

There is a good social scene and you make friends with a variety of people. Nights out are organised as well as other social events. There are social events within the department as well such as BBQ's, meals for peoples birthdays and days out playing foot gold or going to the spa.

The cost of living and socialising was low. I lived at home during my summer placement so didn't have to pay rent which enabled me to save some money up before going back to university. Socialising was reasonable as well due to it not being every week, it was spread out and tended to be on a weekend after we got paid.

The nightlife was busy and varied with multiple people coming out from different areas within the company. Also, there are lots of locations to go out at for a good night out. There were a variety of bars and clubs to go to and I have lots of memories from our nights out.

There were some opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work but most of the time a couple of people who knew each other would organise a get together and do something some nights or weekends after work had finished. However, if someone was leaving or if was a birthday the majority of the department would be around.