Industrial Placement student in DMPK Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at GSK Stevenage, I was able to build upon the theory I had learnt during my time at university in an industrial setting, as well as being able to build upon my personal and presentational skills. I was able to network throughout the company, as well as shadow other departments during my year.

As soon as I started my placement year, I was immediately felt welcome by the entire team at GSK. I felt comfortable in being able to ask any questions I might have without feeling judged. I was also given full responsibility for my own work, as well as acknowledged for my work during feedback meetings.

I was given full support by my supervisor, as well as supervisors of other students. I had regular catch ups with my supervisor to ensure progress was being made, as well as highlighting areas that I needed more practice on, with my supervisor giving me the opportunity to do that.

The workload within the early discovery department in a pharmaceutical company such as GSK can vary week to week, with some days being quiet with workload, and others being packed full, with some occasions of overtime being carried out. However, on the days were the workload was less, students were given time to complete their university projects.

As soon as you were fully trained, then it was your responsibility to carry out assays that had been asked for. It was also your responsibility to organise your own time schedule in order to meet certain deadlines set by programme teams. The results you then produced were then sometimes yours to present.

This placement has allowed me to realise that a job in the pharmaceutical industry is where I want to end up. It has given me a passion for science again, especially as I was able to see where the theory I've learnt in lectures can be applied to an industrial setting. The skills learnt will certainly set me up for a bountiful career.

As the office environment used a 'hot desking' system, it allowed you to be sat next to someone different once in a while. This was also great from a networking opportunity, especially as we shared an office with both biologists and chemists, so if you ever had a question, an expert was never far away.

As GSK as a company, and our department in particular, had had students in the past, they were very well equipped for training up the students to the level of an FTE. Students are a key part in the company, so they understood the undergraduate level you were at. You weren't expected to know everything already!

Whenever there were courses or lectures that we expressed an interest in, the company never hesitated in allowing us to attend those. There was also the chance to volunteer with the charity Over The Wall, a children's camp, without having to use up holiday hours. GSK as a company are very for volunteering opportunities and actively encourage employees to take part.

As many students are taken on at GSK every year, the likelihood of you being offered a job on the spot is highly unlikely . However, by expressing an interest in either a career or postgraduate study shows that you are interested and ensures that you are in people's minds when new opportunities come up.

With over 100 students on site, there was a great social scene. A scheme known as IPUnite organised events for the IPs to attend, with the best one being a boat party on the Thames. There was also monthly office socials and if you were part of any of the sports clubs on offer, they also organised their own socials.

The cost of living wasn't too expensive, being just outside of London in Stevenage, however the further you ventured into London, the prices obviously increased massively. Socialising wasn't too expensive as long as you knew the right places to go to, i.e. spending evenings in Wetherspoons rather than some of the cocktail bars.

There wasn't really a nightclub scene in Stevenage, but you certainly weren't short of a pub or two. However, with great public transport links to London and Cambridge, you didn't have to travel far if you wanted to find a good nightclub. However, some of the local pubs would stay open late (2 am) at the weekend.

As said before, IPUnite organised lots of social opportunities outside of work to get involved with. There were also work sports clubs. In particular I played netball with other colleagues, which also involved social nights as part of a team. Charity was also a big part of the company, so there was the opportunity to volunteer for many fundraising events.