Bioanalyst- Industrial placement Review

It was an rewarding environment were you are challenged with real industrial expreience. The satisfaction of working alongside a team of professionals and being valued for your work is a great enjoyment.

There was a mutual respect for everyone in the team and team moral was good. GSK are good at integrating their IP students and making sure we weren't ostracised or treat differently. The work we do as students is the same as anyone else depending on the needs of the department.

The level of support both theoretical or practical was second to none. Frequent meetings also ensured that we were supported with the work and how we fit into the team.

I contributed to a team who provided fast turnaround data which meant some days I worked longer than others. At times this was difficult however i was always supported and this gave me true insight into how the department functioned and the importance of the data we were producing. However, being this busy meant that i had been given a lot of responsibility which was great.

The right amount. I was given the same work as other team members, they respected me to work professionally and to a high standard just as full time employees.

Every aspect was addressed with training, from how to write professionally to lab based skills and beyond. I visited symposiums which pathed a background in areas that i will be visiting in my degree so a greater knowledge in these areas is invaluable.

The office was the right mix of hard-working and good atmosphere. People were always friendly but there wasn't general chit-chat.

My placement spot had been going for several years and the transition was smooth. It was a good relationship between my supervisor and myself to feedback to each other how my placement was going.

The whole year was spent increasing my personal skills. This was done by frequent meetings and the encouragement to go out an partake in as much training that is relevantly possible.

It became apparent during my year that this organisation was also being affected by the recession. It will be hard to obtain a job with this in the company, however there are schemes to increase this chance.

The group of placement students was really great, and we were able to socialise both in and out of work. It made the year much better to be with people going through the same situation as you

The area I lived was commuter route for London so it was fairly expensive, however it was a really nice town with lots of options to live nearby for less. As its not a student area there weren't facilities from the estate agents for catering for houses with multiple students in so that was something we had to consider when looking for somewhere to live.

The actual town had lots of pubs but no clubs, however London was only 45 mins on the train and there were quite a few towns close by with clubs in.

Yes- I joined a sports team.