Industrial Placement Review

My day to day role consisted of attending supplier meetings to get updates on various topics such as quality, regulatory and technical to ensure each area is making the correct progress for their respective projects. I also help prepare for monthly governance meetings with the senior stakeholder meetings by ensuring the slide deck is ready and sending out communications to the rest of the team. I use data system PowerBI to help with project work.

I've developed a wide variety of skills throughout my time at GSK. For example I developed leadership skills by managing different projects, I grew in confidence when addressing different stakeholders and I developed teamwork skills when collaborating with different interns on charity fundraising events. I increased my communication skills by drafting and distributing key emails to the team and I also increased my planning abilities by planning a team day for the ENC Team.

I was given a good amount of responsibility during my placement. For example I was given a good amount of responsibility when helping prepare for the monthly governance meetings. I also had a good level of responsibility when leading my PowerBI project which I had to talk to the entire ENC Team to collect data. I also had responsibility when creating the success video for my team and also planning the team day for the ENC Team.

I received a good level of support from various people during my placement. I had regular meetings with my manager and he provided lots of support. I also had a graduate mentor that I had regular meetings with to go over my development. Also when I started my placement I had regular support from the previous placement student who showed me all the steps and processes of how to complete a range of tasks which helped a lot.

The company culture and general atmosphere was really good I felt welcomed by everyone that I met in the company. During times where I felt under pressure I was supported by my peers who provided great levels of help to ensure that I was able to complete my tasks efficiently. Furthermore i was encouraged to reach out and network with people in other departments to get a better understanding of the different functions at GSK.

I enjoyed my placement to a high degree because there was plenty of opportunities for me to grow not only as a professional but also as a person. I was able to meet so many great people who I have created cherished memories with that I will take with me during my final year of university studies and beyond. I strongly recommend taking a placement as it will help with your employability skills and will help you network with new people.

Yes

I'd say to anyone applying to GSK to be aware of the company values and to align examples of when you have demonstrated those examples at university or during extra curricular activities. The most important thing is to be yourself and not be someone else and transparency is a value that GSK hold in high regard. I'd also recommend practicing interview technique and other assessment based activities to help your chances of being successful.