Placement student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the work. The work was stimulating and provided enough challenge without being too hard to be tedious. Meeting were interesting and provided good insight into industry. The majority of my work was valued by the department. I occasionally felt a few of the things I did would never be looked at again but this was rare.

While it depended on the group I was working in, the majority of people highly valued me. Occasionally I felt like an annoyance to a small group of people if i was taking up time on lab equipment. My opinion was often was valued and I was regularly asked questions.

Supervisors were great at pastoral supervisation. I was given exposure to other areas of GSK and my general supervisation was great. I was provided with good general training. Sometimes I felt like my supervisor was out of their depth when helping me with issues but I could find other people in the department for help.

As is the nature of science- I sometimes was very busy and sometimes was very quiet but this balanced out to be a nice level. At the start of the placement I was quiet but gradually became busier. There was always something to be doing it was just a matter of finding it.

I ran my own project. this provided great independence and responsibility. It did mean I sometimes felt isolated but this was never much of an issue as I was running my own project. This meant I had a great deal of trust placed upon me as big decisions were based upon my data.

I learnt many skills both in the lab, professional skills and data handling skills. All of which will be useful in my final year at university, especially in my lab project, and in future job/ PhD applications. My CV is far stronger than another graduate who is graduating without a placement year.

Atmosphere varied day by day but it was on the whole great. There was the right level of chat with work still getting done. The whole department was close and this showed in regular team builds and BBQs. Christmas dos were well organised and everone was very happy while at work.

Very well organised and set up prior to the placement. While on placement my true employer (SRG) was not very good at replying and did not provide us with many days holiday. The placement would have been better if we were employed directly by GSK rather than SRG as this sometimes prevented us from joining in with activities.

GSK was very good and invested lots of time into us. We were allowed to be trained in anything we asked to be trained in. Regular development days outside of the department were provided that didnt benefit the department asd onyl benefited us. This was very refreshing, I loved this about the department.

While we are not guaranteed a job it is a good foot in the door and I can see myself coming back to the department however, due to a lack of available positions this will not come in the next couple of years.

Some social scene but this died out as the placement progressed and people became buissier. It would have been nice if this continued.

Slightly less than london prices but not super cheap.

There were some bars and pubs but limited clubs. London was close and this was the place to go if you wanted to go out.