RD Respiratory Investigator Immunologist Review

One of the best decisions i ever made to undertake a placement year at GSK. I loved every minute of it.

I felt very valued and felt that my input had a direct impact on projects and future work.

My supervisor was brilliant. She taught me everything i needed to know whilst at the same time giving me a degree of freedom to do my work and experiments on my own. It made me feel like a valued and trusted member of the team and not someone who needed to be watched over every second of the day.

I was very busy on a daily basis. I always had experiments to run and plan or experimental write ups to do. That said however whilst i was very busy i enjoyed every minute of it because the work was mine to do. It wasnt work for someone else that had been palmed off on me it was work for my own project and as a result i felt a great sense of pride and accomplishment in it.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility. Results from my experiments and opinions were factored into many decision making processes such as which experiments to do next and what projects to take forward.

my practical lab work has improved dramatically over the past year. I now feel comfortable and able to work autonamously in a professional lab setting and to get the work done. This will no doubt help me with my final year lab project when i return to university.

Everyone worked hard but enjoyed themselves at the same time. Conversation in the labs flowed whilst at the same time everyone was able to get on and do what they needed to. It was a great atmosphere to work in.

Very well set up. From day 1 onwards things always ran smoothly and very few problems came up along the way.

The company invested a great deal of time in my training and development in terms of man hours. My supervisor taught me 1 on 1 how to do each new technique that i would require. The company also ran lecture series open to all staff not just placment students to ensure our scientific knowledge remained upto date throughout the entire year.

Based on my experiences of this year if a suitable role or position became available or was offered to me i would jump at the chanve to take it.

In my department alone there was about 20 students. We would regularly arrange to go on nights out together or weekend trips to London, that sort of thing. It was also common for people to do midweek events as well such as meals out, cinema or film nights at various peoples houses.

Stevenage considering its distance from London was reasonably priced to live in, for a house of 5 we payed just under £300 a month each. Socialising usually just cost the price of a meal out or cinema ticket, things that have a pretty standard cost where ever you are.

Stevenage is not reknowed for its nightlife, that being said there were plenty of pubs that students wouls frequently visit on a friday after work or on the weekends. There was also one nightclub nearby which whilst not brilliant, if attended with the right people still provided a decent night out.

The students usually organised social activities together outside of work, there was never a weekend when something was not happening. there were also several work related activities throughout the year such as voluntering and comapny open days which were also fun to get involved in.