Industrial Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed my placement at GSK. The work I was given was extremely interesting and I enjoyed being able to apply my knowledge from my studying at University into practical situations. I really enjoyed the variety of work, the balance between being in the office and in the lab was perfect for me.

I felt really valued by all of my colleagues. When attending meetings I was treated as a full time member of staff as opposed to a student. The project I was given was really important to the company and many people were interested in the data I was producing, it was not just lab work that would fill up my time there.

My managers were very supportive and always had enough time to provide me with any help or guidance. We set up regular meetings so they were able to see my progress and discuss if I had any exciting results or issues. I felt comfortable enough to go and ask my managers any questions throughout the day and they were always around.

The work load I had varied a lot, based on where you are with your project the amount of work changes a lot. Some days are fully within the lab so can be tiring and then others are whole days spent in the office. I always felt like there was something to be done, whether it was lab work preparation, physical lab work, preparing a presentation or attending meetings.

I was given a lot of responsibility, upon arrival I was set my own project that I was the only person working on. My managers provided me with a lot of guidance on my project but when it came to discussing the data and presenting to members in my department I was fully responsible.

In terms of my degree, a years extra experience in a laboratory setting is extremely valuable. Furthermore, I have advanced my analytical mind and data analysing skills which will be really helpful in future experiments. I have also gained a lot of personal skills including confidence and communication that will be help me a lot in the future.

The general atmosphere in the office was perfect. There was a good balance between being able to concentrate and get your work done and being able to be sociable. Everyone in the office was welcoming and would provide help if you needed any. The students usually sat together in the office which was a good way to make friends.

The placement was really organised. The year started with two weeks of training that included lectures to make sure everyone had the same level of knowledge before starting and then small experiments in groups to get us used to the lab environment. The whole process was very professional and no problems arose.

My managers allowed me to use my time at work to speak to other members of staff in varied departments so that I was able to develop my knowledge of the business as well as use it to help me decide on my future career. I was able to visit another GSK site which was really interesting.

The future prospects are very appealing to me. GSK is a large company and so there is a wide variety of roles. I would definitely apply to future roles at this company even if they are different to the area I completed my placement in. The company ethos and working atmosphere is great.

There were many social events held throughout the year including movie nights, meeting up at bars and going bowling. there were then some much bigger events involving students from different areas including a night out in London and a boat ride down the Thames. There was a large amount of students on working at the site.

The cost of living was average, but living within the town centre close to the train station is quite expensive. Moving further away from work made it cheaper but I would recommend to bring a car if you have one as everything useful is in the centre of Stevenage and public transport would cost alot and the journey takes longer than needed

There are a few pubs dotted around Stevenage, and a couple of bars but no clubs. You are close to London though and trains run late at night or very early the next morning, in London there is a very wide variety of clubs, bars and restaurants so there is something for everybody.

There were not many activities to become involved with outside of work.