Undergraduate Industrial Placement Student Review

Thoroughly enjoyed the year - surpassed my expectations concerning project quality, professional/personal development, and social life.

Very much valued by the team - everyone took an interest in my work and results, and offered constructive comments.

I was given plenty of support at the beginning of my placement, and given a lot of independence when appropriate. I have never been micro-managed or had a lack of guidance, either whilst in the workplace or working remotely during the COVID crisis.

The balance between desk work and lab work was around 50/50. This varied from day to day, but I rarely felt that I had too much on my plate.

I feel I was given an appropriate amount of responsibility. I had a small amount of responsibility at the start, but this grew as I went through my placement. By 5/6 months in, I had full responsibility over my experiments, project, professional and personal development.

The skills I have accrued over this placement will prove invaluable in my professional life. Training offered covered experimental techniques and equipment, experiment/project planning. The AZinspire program allowed me to develop professional skills and gave me great insight in the pharmaceutical industry.

The comradery within the Neuroscience team was always uplifting. The community of industrial placement students in the office was fantastic; having lots of other students around really helped with settling in.

The application and interview process was very clear. Communication concerning job offers was very prompt post-interview. The familiarisation day held for the students felt a little late in the year (May).

The company invests in its AZinspire program for its early career professionals, which regularly gave talks about professional/personal development. It also held symposiums throughout the year with themes along these lines.

Future employment prospects at AZ look very appealing. There is plenty of room for ascending through roles. The company is accessible to early career professionals with their Graduate Scheme.

There was a large cohort of students based in my building. We all got along very well, and met up most weekends.

Cambridge is not the cheapest city in the UK. Renting costs are in line with its location (~£500-£550 pcm). Cost of living/socialising is relatively high - comparable with places like Bristol/Brighton/Oxford.

Cambridge has a few nightclubs, several bars, and many pubs. Thanks to the city having two universities, all of these venues are pretty busy at weekends.

There were many opportunities - AZinspire ran social events, and the city itself regularly has events/festivals.