Service Project Analyst Review

The placement was very enjoyable. The company ensured that students were having fun at all times and this was aided with the events held by IP Unite. At times I felt as if the tasks were becoming repetitive, but that is just the nature of working. Overall I enjoyed it.

Throughout my entire placement I never felt as though I was the student in my team. I always felt valued and my opinion mattered just as much as anyone else in the team. It was only a small team (4), so I never felt like I was an outsider .

I sat next to my line manager throughout my placement, so I received constant support along the way. Anytime I needed questions answered or help on a particular aspect I was able to ask him or contact another colleague. I never felt as though they didn't want to help me.

The beginning and middle parts of my placement were extremely busy. I always had work to do and I always enjoyed the daily tasks which were presented to me. Nearer the end, the daily tasks became more boring and the project work slowed down also. Overall, I was busy during my year.

Right from the start of the placement I was given large amounts of responsibility in my team. Since the team was very small, and responsible for high risks services, I was also given my fair share to cover. I gained trust from my colleagues to work on my own and produce results.

Apart from the basic transferable skills such as communication, time management and minor technical skills, I didn't feel as though my placement will help in my final year. The work was not very technical ( I didn't mind), but my course is very technical. I can't blame GSK for this as I knew this coming in.

At the start of the year, the office was extremely busy and there was always things going on. as time went on and organisational changes took place, the office became a lot more quitter and now not as many people come in. However, over time I built a rapport with several colleagues which makes it okay.

Overall the placement was setup well. I felt that GSK always had a good handle on the students and managed them well. The only improvement I would say is that there wasn't much involvement from the more senior members within the company. Having even a small bit of exposure to them would have been nice.

I received excellent training during my time at GSK. Throughout the year I completed training modules and had face to face training from my colleagues on certain aspects. Most importantly, GSK paid for me to complete the ITIL Foundation course, which is well recognised and is excellent to take away.

In terms of technology I don't feel it's the right place to continue working, due to the nature of it being quite far behind in the tech space. There are plans to bring this forward, however in this current time I would rather work for a tech based company .

Straight from the start I was able to have a good group of friends, so the social scene within the workplace has been good ever since. I never felt as though the other students were 'competing' or felt as they were better than anyone else. IP Unite also improved the social aspect.

due to the office being in west London, costs were naturally higher than normal. however this was okay and was manageable. it was exactly how I expected so I knew it would be quite expensive. overall I would work in this area again, as the location is perfect, especially as I drive.

There is no nightlife around the office, as you would need to go into central London. The journey into central London however is not so bad so my colleagues and myself were happy to go whenever we had a social event. It would have been nice to have things closer to the office.

Several events were setup by the company which involved sports (football, cricket), and also social events were organised by ip unite to bring together IPs from all over GSK. Overall I would say there were opportunities however there wasn't enough. I would certainly expect more from a company of this size.