New Product Research - Adult Specialist Nutrition Review

I very much enjoyed my work placement at GSK. It was a fairly demanding position requiring me to adapt quickly to the way GSK operates and a role that I have never had experience in before but I was well supported by my team and help was available when needed. I enjoyed the interaction between different departments within the nutrition category and the presence of other placements in the office made for a fun but hard working environment. A lot of opportunities and responsibilities were given to me throughout the placement which I took and am very glad I did because it has given me a great deal of valuable experience for my future.

At GSK I felt very valued by my colleagues. I worked within a small team of less than five people with regular interactions with other departments within the wider category. From the beginning I was given a great deal of responsibility and respect and my opinion on the work that I was doing was taken as being true and correct, and was used to direct the research and opportunities the business followed up on.

My line manager changed once during my year on placement and the transition was handled extremely well by the two people involved and I was kept informed every step of the way. About half way through the placement I began to split my time with another department as well as the one I was already working within meaning I gained another supervisor. This meant I was receiving two lots of work at once and on some occasions I felt that the two managers didn't communicate enough to establish what my workload was like and I was on some occasions extremely busy and other times I had little to do. However individually they both provided me with excellent support and guidance through weekly catch up meetings and when I had questions about work or even my future past the placement they were both very approachable and supportive.

My daily workload varied throughout the year, primarily driven by the changes that were occurring within the company during my placement. There were points in the year when I was very busy and had to stay late at work to keep up to date with the work I was being given and there were other times when I had very little to do and found myself creating my own work to do. However on average over the year I was given a good amount of work, enough to fill my working day but not enough to require me to do additional hours or feel stressed.

I was given a great deal of responsibility during my placement, which I feel was the best part of the placement. I was given entire research projects, one which lasted upwards of three months, to complete entirely by myself with my line manager's support if required. Once these projects were completed I could see how they impacted the company and the decisions that were made. For example, the company were looking to submit a dossier for a European Food Safety Authority claim and were sure that the scientific research was present to back it up, however after much research I uncovered that that was in fact not the case and more research would be required. On the basis of my work they decided not to submit the claim, essentially meaning I saved the company a great deal of time and expense.

I haven't reached the next stage of my studies or beyond as of yet as I am coming toward the end of my placement however I can see which of my skills have developed and I can foresee how they are going to be beneficial in the future. My scientific research and writing skill have dramatically improved to the point where I have been able to write a scientific review with a colleague and for it to sent to a journal for publication. Writing and reviewing scientific reports is a key part of my degree in my final year and possibly future beyond meaning these skills will be extremely beneficial. The other main skill I have developed is my presentation and public speaking skills. After giving numerous presentations and speaking in public during my year I feel much more comfortable doing so. I also received feedback from presentations I gave at the start and very recently in my placement and I saw significantly improved results. Another key part of my course at university is giving oral presentations meaning this will be a useful key skill to have, additionally confidence in public speaking is a fantastic skill to have.

The atmosphere in the office was mixed. Toward the end of the year, there were a lot of changes taking place at GSK meaning there were a lot of people unsure about their future at the company, this created a rather somber mood in the office. In general however, everyone in the office was great fun to be with and as a large group we went on numerous nights out after work together and I had an excellent time. The other students who were in the same office as me made great company and definitely helped me to initially settle into such a huge company. Everyone was very friendly and approachable even if they were extremely busy, they always made time for and issues I had, even if they weren't necessarily work related.

My overall year was very well organised, I had a solid base of operations and a well structured by flexible set of hours. I was well aware of all the logistics of the placement and also of the way the company functioned. There was a handover week from the previous set of students which helped me to settle in as I got to meet everyone in the various departments and learn how they functioned. When I transitioned to spend some of my time in another department, once the process of moving me across was complete I was given work and responsibilities quickly and was well accepted by the new group. Towards the end, the placement became a little more disorganised again due to the changes taking place at the company but that is to be expected in that scenario.

In terms of training, I wasn't given a great deal of specific training courses related to my role and degree, but I feel that the experience I was learning on the job sufficiently covered that aspect of my development. I was however given numerous opportunities to attend conferences and seminars around the country with all expenses paid for by the company. These were an excellent opportunity to learn about sport and nutrition and also meet people from various companies and areas of academia in the industry for networking. As I previously mentioned, I feel I developed key skills such as scientific reviewing and writing and presentation giving whilst on the job.

I would love the opportunity to work for the company in the future however with the changes taking place it seems highly unlikely there will be a role for me in the future related to my current position. However there may be opportunities to work in another department in the business if I choose to go down the academia route. But if I were to ignore the fact that the opportunity is no longer there and I were to go on my preference alone then I would relish the opportunity to work for the company in the future. I looked into doing the company's graduate scheme however there were no roles related to my work and degree.

I worked in an office with five other placement students who lived locally to our place of work and we were good friends throughout the placement. We went on many nights out together and a few days out as well. There was also a wider group of placement students in the building with whom a few times in the year there were organised events which I attended. These were generally well organised and were great fun. In terms of colleagues outside of these students, again there were quite a few organised events to attend with the whole office. Some of these were once in a lifetime experiences such as an after hours tour and dinner in the Tower of London which I greatly enjoyed and will remember for the rest of my life.

Working in London meant that the cost of socialising was quite high however on the office/company nights out usually they were paid for by GSK and I personally ended up spending very little. When I went out with a group of students we were subject to London prices. With planning however, being London, there is plenty that you can do for free or at a lower price. In terms of living costs, I personally didn't live in London, I commuted and lived at home. But speaking to the other students, the cost of living was high but not excessively high relative to the wage they were earning.

Being London, the nightlife was excellent and varied. There were a great deal of local pubs and clubs and also other nights out such as theaters, cinemas, and tours that I could go to.

There were limited opportunities with work to partake in activities outside of work. There were a few volunteering opportunities which I participated in but these were limited. Any fun activities that didn't involve going out to pubs, or bars generally needed to be organised by myself or another student, however when we did organise them, they were well supported and attended. In terms of those which could be organised by myself, again being in London the opportunities were endless.