Undergraduate Industrial Placement Student Review

I worked as a Undergraduate Industrial Placement Student at AstraZeneca (2021-2022 cohort). My role was laboratory based, within AstraZeneca’s Biopharmaceutical R&D organisation and Discovery Sciences function. The team I was part of was responsible for developing and running pre-clinical assays to support the DMTA (Design, Make, Test, Analyse) cycle across all AstraZeneca’s therapeutic areas. I primarily worked on projects with an immuno-oncology focus, developing and optimising in vitro assays for enzyme substrate discovery, and supporting drug profiling efforts to enable the generation of in vitro efficacy data for multiple immuno-oncology targets. Throughout my placement, I was responsible for the design, execution and optimisation of my experiments, in addition to analysing data and reporting outcomes to my supervisors and relevant stakeholders.

During my year at AstraZeneca I have developed and improved a multitude of skills, including both soft and technical skills. I have become independent in the laboratory, setting up the required equipment, running the assays and analysing the results. I have become experienced in troubleshooting certain pieces of lab equipment, such as the flow cytometer and automatic liquid handler. Further to gaining such valuable laboratory skills, I have developed my communication abilities through positive interactions with my colleagues and by presenting my work to different teams and stakeholders within AstraZeneca. Moreover, I have become a more organised and confident individual by helping run social and career development events as part of the AZinspire committee, the early talent network of AstraZeneca.

I believe I was given more responsability than I initially expected during my placement, as I was able to contribute to live, valuble projects of AstraZeneca and have a real impact on the development of drugs for certain targets in the AZ pre-clinical portfolio. This has been extremely rewarding for me, as following appropriate training and guidance, my supervisor and line manager trusted me with running high priority assays, evaluating new investigational techniques and with data analysis and sharing.

I felt extremely well supported during my year at AstraZeneca. I had daily catch-ups with my direct supervisor, where we discussed any upcoming experiments, the status of currently running/previous experiments, or any arising issues. Our informal chats have really helped me build my confidence as a scientist and made all my tasks very clear. Furthermore, I had several career development meetings with my line manager throughout the year, where they have provided me with information on the available career options within AZ, discussed about PhDs and alternative career paths. They have also reviewed my CV and facilitated a strengths assessment test for me in order to be able to discover my potential and areas of development.

I loved the company culture at AstraZeneca! Everyone is happy to chat, share knowledge and discuss about science (and the best restaurants in Cambridge) at any hour of the day! :) All people I’ve met were kind, ambitious and working towards the same goal - to advance science in order to be able to deliver life-saving medicine to patients. It was refreshing to be part of a company for which patients are at the forfront. The general atmoshpere was open, friendly, science and patient driven. AstraZeneca is for sure a great place to work. I would say the only downside of having such an enthusiastic, keen culture is that everyone works extremely hard, making social interactions a bit less frequent than I was hoping for.

I had a great year at AstraZeneca, and there aren’t many things I would change about it. I have learned a lot during this year, much more than I would have learned during a year (or two) at university. I have managed to build a positive relationship with my team and the wider community at AZ, and I think that had such a big impact on my placement experience. I consider myself extremely lucky to have been part of the placment scheme at AZ, and honestly could not recommend it enough. The only troubles I had were around contracts/screening with the external recruitment company, which have been extremely slow in their replies. After starting the placement, however, they have been quick in helping me book any holidays or when I had any issues around tax paying etc.

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One of my biggest advice is to be yourself, be honest and engaged during the asssessment day, and be proactive in learning about the company and opportunities it has to offer. During the values interview, make use of the ATOLA or STAR techniques and prepare examples for certain questions beforehand (e.g. tell me about a time when you had to resolve conflict). During the team exercise, be mindful and respectful of others and engaged, whilst trying not to overdo it. Have a clear formatted CV, and be mindful that you may need to spend more time writing and reviewing your online application form than you think.