Industrial Placement Student Review

I've had a great experience this year. The work itself was very satisfying and enjoyable, waking up knowing I was doing meaningful and valued work was very motivating. All the people I worked with with were very friendly and welcoming, all of the team meetings and activities both in and outside of the workplace made me feel part of a real team. Joining with a group of other industrial placement students was fantastic, we were very social and always saw each other outside of work. As well as this the large group of other students and other young people in their early career added to this experience.

I always felt like my work was appreciated and of interest and value to my team and the company. Myself and all of the students were given the opportunity to present to various groups and by the end of the placement, at the weekly site-wide meeting. Furthermore we had support from other teams outside of our own team for some parts of the project, demonstrating the value of our work and our projects. Being invited and welcomed to a range of opportunities and events at the company further made me feel valued.

I always felt welcome to talk to my supervisor about any issues I was having, whether these were issues in the lab, office or more pastoral issues. For the first few months of the placement my supervisor had significant amounts of time dedicated to training and supporting me which really helped me to become more comfortable and confident in the workplace. As I became more independent in the work this direct support decreased significantly throughout the placement but I still always felt like I had access to support I needed if I were to ask.

Throughout the course of the placement my work life balance has never been better. Having clear boundaries between work and home life really helped in this, a boundary that I often felt didn't exist at University. Consequently when I was working I felt highly motivated and focused. I was never expected to work late or at weekends, although I did find myself working late into the evenings in the lab sometimes, however this never concerned me as I really enjoyed the work and my project. I never felt overwhelmed by my workload and my supervisor always made sure I had enough to do but that I wasn't completely swamped with work.

Each of the industrial placement students are given a research project to work on throughout the year, as these were seen as our own projects I felt very responsible for my project. We were all offered the opportunity to apply for further responsibilities such as on the 'AZ inspire' committee, a group within the company providing, workshops, talks and socials to early careers and students in the company. Furthermore, many of us were given the opportunity to utilise advanced instruments and equipment and to maintain lab spaces.

I received extensive training throughout the placement, including both hard technical lab skills as well as softer skills. I was trained in a variety of lab techniques including learning to use complex, modern instruments. I learned much about data analysis and handling and developed my ability to present my findings and data to a range of audiences. I became more confident in my ability to learn new skills, manage my time, and to network. Although I know that I am unlikely to use some of the technical skills in my final year of university I am now more confident in my ability to learn new skills and use new instruments and equipment, and have demonstrated my ability to do this. The other softer skills will be invaluable next year for my final year project and beyond. Most importantly I now know how I want to continue my career after university.

The office environment and atmosphere is really something that I'll miss when returning to university. Sitting and working alongside a mixture of students and more senior colleges was very productive but also very enjoyable. The environment was quiet enough to work and focus but I always felt free and happy to chat with my colleagues whilst working. The office atmosphere always made even the dullest and more repetitive work more enjoyable. It was always easy to talk and discuss about our own experiments and results as well as non-work related topics.

The first month was very well structured and organised with a range of formal training for all new employees as well as more specialised training specific for lab workers as well as training specific to my project. After the initial training and on-boarding the project was less structured, simply due to the nature of my research project. Myself and my supervisor planned the overall structure of the project and the work and would review this depending on the outcome of experiments. On the other hand the off boarding was significantly less well-organised and felt rushed.

Significant amounts of training were organised as part of my on-boarding. This ranged from training on the company, the pharmaceutical industry, health and safety, security and formal lab training. My supervisor also provided me with specialist training for my project, including online theory based training as well as practical lab training on the specialised instruments required for my project. My supervisor also provided me with shadowing opportunities to observe the range of techniques and equipment used at the company.

I would be very interested in continuing to work within the company, however due to the size of the company I feel that at the undergraduate level this may be difficult due to how competitive the graduate scheme is. Although I know my experience here will assist in this process and the company is keen on getting industrial placement students back into the company via the graduate scheme I still feel as this would still be a difficult process.

I joined with a group of 13 other industrial placement students which then grew to 15 a few months into the placement. We usually met together at lunch and had smaller meetings for coffee in work. Outside of work we had a great social scene with the majority of us all going to the gym, cinema, restaurants, dinner parties and nights out together. I made a great group of friends which I know will extend past the placement

Being based in Cambridge we quickly realised how expensive it is to live. Rent costs are almost the highest in the country outside of London and although the company did pay us well for students significant amounts of my income was spent on rent. Furthermore to travel outside of Cambridge is also expensive with train tickets to the North usually costing minimum £50 return over several trains. Groceries were not expensive but drinks and nights out were very expensive.

Cambridge has very few clubs, most of which are small and expensive. There are plenty of great pubs though. If nightlife is important to you then you can always get a train to London in 45min.

At work there is a group dedicated to supplementing students and young people within the company beginning their careers- 'AZ Inspire'. They always provided workshops and meetings for us to attend for further personal development. There were also a range of scientific communication opportunities to get involved with outside of work, we were given the opportunity to volunteer for the company in a Big Biology day and as well as in the Cambridge Science festival to promote science in the community. There were also dedicated volunteering days to get involved with a couple of times on placement.