IP in In Vivo Bioimaging (Preclinical Imaging) Review

I mostly enjoyed it, the work was varied and the department was lovely. Unfortunately it was also a little quiet so I would have liked more to do

My department were so lovely, the team is really small and I was welcomed in it, my comments and questions were always listened to

My supervisor was always around to ask questions, but as the team is small I typically just asked the whole office questions and they were all happy to chip in. I also had fortnightly meetings with my supervisor to discuss and concerns as well as project meetings wit the whole team who offered advice

Unfortunately due to company reorganisation the team as a whole was pretty quiet. I was lucky to also get involved with a project in another team which passed the time. I also was able to use the time to visit several other departments and attend lots of onsite lectures.

I was completely responsible for planning and carrying out my university project, and often scanned alone when the schedule required. Unfortunately the nature of in vivo work means laws are so strict I was unable to plan an in vivo study for myself.

I was able to use machinery I would never access at university and interacted with experts on a daily basis. I feel my anatomical knowledge and to some extent my lab skills are stronger now. You have to motivate yourself to research the diseases being studied because it isn't always necessary to understand them to carry out the study, but it is helpful.

Really friendly, there are 12 people in the office (6 in our team and 6 a different department), everyone is friendly, but usually it gets quiet enough you can get on with work. There are also meeting rooms/ little pods you can go to if you want silence e.g. when writing up your project.

GSK host so many IP students so they are used to the general set up of placement year. It is down to you to inform your team what your universities requirements for the year and this can be accommodated for. There are lots of IP specific talks and development events which are helpful.

The company has many opportunities for development, lots of online training is available, there are lectures which anyone can attend most weeks, you can take development days to visit other areas. As I was in an animal department the company also paid for a 3 day training course over the summer for me to gain a PIL ABC (animal work) licence.

I don't think I want to return to GSK just yet, I'd prefer to explore other options. But they do offer grad schemes which IPs can skip through certain recruitment aspects of if recommended by their manager. There are also some grad roles but these are a little harder to come by.

I was the only IP in my department so had to work to ensure I knew other IPs. I met other IPs through the familiarisation day, weekly netball and an IP bake off that was arranged by the IPs. If you throw yourself in there are lots of chances to make friends. The nightlife in Stevenage isn't great but London was nearby.

Stevenage isn't cheap but it is completely doable on the GSK wage, I never struggled too much. Nights our in London are expensive so it didn't do this too much but the local pubs etc aren't fine for a reasonably priced night out. There's also a cinema, bowling, laser quest, mini golf and trampoline centre if you want alternative activities, but again these aren't too cheap.

Stevenage has quite a lot of pubs but no real clubs, so trips to London are needed for this. The last train is reasonably early which can be a little annoying, but people can wait for the very first train in the morning (around 5 am). Otherwise people have got the tube as north as possible then split the cost of a cab which isn't too bad.

I went to weekly netball at the sports centre, there was also volleyball and more than one football session a week which lots of students go to. If you have access to a car, people can drive to ware for climbing and kayaking in the summer. There's also a Christmas ball and a summer boat party for students which are good fun.