Industrial Placement Student Review

The placement at AstraZeneca has so far been very enjoyable. I have had the opportunity to learn a lot, and have been able to practise lab techniques that would otherwise have been impossible at university. I have also gained an insight into the pharmaceutical industry and worked with scientists at the cutting edge of medicine.

Initially when starting the placement I was daunted at the thought of trying to contribute to an established team of scientists who had years of experience and understanding, and felt like I would always feel a little lost in meetings and useless in the lab. However, my colleagues put my mind at ease very quickly - explaining acronyms and the background to the experiments we were doing and teaching me to work independently.

My manager and supervisor have been excellent this year and have supported me through some difficult personal circumstances. My supervisor clearly explained my project from the start - the science behind it, the work that had been done thus far and what else needed done. She was very patient and understanding in the lab. My manager checked in with me often and was always at hand to make suggestions, give advice and encourage me to think in different ways about the project.

For the first few weeks I felt a little lost and felt like I had not much work to do. As my supervisor began to show me more techniques in the lab and I became a bit more independent my workload increased (but never to such an extent that I was stressed and working overtime!)

I felt like I didn't have much responsibility at the beginning of my placement - I was still learning things, catching up with the background of the project and getting to grips with the rules of the lab and shadowing my supervisor. However, as the placement progressed I became much more independent, and soon was doing experiments unsupervised, at which point I felt a lot more secure and confident in myself and my ability to produce results.

I will be going into my final year of university with a lot more confidence in my ability to perform experiments in the lab and understand lab techniques quicker. I feel I am a more critical thinker and have the skills and background needed to plan experiments, analyse results and optimise assays. I feel more able to follow a science-heavy conversation and make my own contributions. I have also had to be very organised, planning my experiments around meetings, uni work, literature reviews and analysis of results. I will also be better able to read and understand scientific papers and quickly pick out the information I need.

My colleagues were friendly and we would say hello when people arrived into the office in the morning and have the occasional chat, but the majority of the time people were very work-focused and so there wasn't a lot of conversation - the students would usually meet for lunch and chat but we were well-spread throughout all the departments so didn't see each other in offices too much

I think the placement was set up well on the whole (a shame about coronavirus!). We had inductions before the actual placement began and had a few gentle introductory days in the first week or so. The company is no stranger to placement students so the managers and supervisors tend to know what to expect from us and where we need some support.

I received a lot of training on lab equipment and also in general workplace activities/behaviours

I would be very happy to work with AstraZeneca again in the future - there seem to be lots of opportunities to become a graduate scientist or apply for a PhD, and as the company is growing and expanding there will likely be opportunities for work in the future and the creation of new positions.

Yes - there were many, many Christmas lunches and a massive Christmas party which was attended by all the Cambridge sites. Us students had plenty of social activities, whether they were self-arranged in small or large groups, and we also had many socials organised by AZinspire, which was run for and by placement students, PhD students and graduates.

Cambridge is pretty expensive in comparison to other places I've lived/worked. Rent is pretty steep but we managed to get a nice house for a good price. A night out is fairly expensive compared to other cities, but there are plenty of cheaper bars amongst more upmarket and expensive places.

I didn't get too much of a chance to experience the clubs of Cambridge due to coronavirus etc., but there are plenty of nice bars and restaurants to go to, and the Regal is always busy with students. There are also plenty of parks to socialise in for evening drinks and a BBQ.

Yes - there were AZInspire-organised events (a bouldering social, the dragon boat race in September, ice skating etc.) but there is also plenty of opportunity in Cambridge for other activities to get involved in independently. There are a few gyms and pools, a few climbing walls, tennis courts, cinemas, punting, dance studios, a skate park and museums amongst other things.