Industrial Placement Student Review

The placement gave me a fantastic insight into the drug discovery process and I was kept very busy too! I had two projects given to me (both very different to keep my interests alive) by my own personal supervisor, who was absolutely fantastic. They provided the educational support I needed and encouraged me to explore other departments to get full flavour of the industry. All the people at AstraZeneca were great and the facilities at Alderley Park were fantastic- shame they're moving to Cambridge!

My supervisor made me feel very welcome, as did the whole team. I was invited to all the group outings and the important meetings and was even given the opportunity to present my work to them were I received constructive and helpful feedback. They were not only very friendly and welcoming but they gave good comments on any work/ concerns I had over work or projects I was working on. It is always difficult to feel valued in a big company but they did a great job!

As I have mentioned I received support from not just my personal supervisor but also the whole team. I had one personal supervisor who I saw weekly to discuss personal issues/plans and also some research insight whilst I worked alongside another supervisor who has more project based. However the opportunity to speak and learn from any of my colleagues at AZ was straight forward and all were very willing to help out!

I was very busy. I did however do my placement year in my final year of my degree which meant that I had university work to do too, but AZ did consider this with the workload they gave me. However, there was never a dull moment. I always had something to do and even when the university work dried up, I had multiple projects to be getting on with. But they do understand and appreciate timing and although I was very busy, I never felt too stressed (a little bit but not too much!).

As I have mentioned I was given two projects; one required me to write this up for my masters project and the other was to dip into when there were lulls in the other project and pick up after the former was written up. I took fulll responsibility for one project which was part of an active project AZ were undertaking. The other I also hold most of the responsibility yet have worked very closely with my supervisor to discuss ideas and motivations. So overall I have had considerable control over the directions of my two projects.

Invaluable skills. Not just skills that were pharmaceutical related, which of course I did pick up but also general 'being in a job' lifestyle. At first it was quite weird but gradually got used to it and now it is just the norm. In terms of pharma skills, I've experienced the range of the drug discovery industry and so have picked up little nuggets of information from all over the place, but mainly time management is crucial.

I had my own office so it was absolutely rocking!! But the general feel from the group was great, everyone had a good working attitude but at the same time knew how and when to relax. Being given my own office meant that I had to actively go and see people which didn't hinder me at all, but I know of others who much preferred the open plan style office space which is definitely the way AZ are heading!

Excellent. I know of other placements were the organisation was poor yet my supervisor planned everything down to the last detail. Obviously being a final year placement as opposed to a sandwich year made it slightly different but the plans were adapted and changed and fitted perfectly into my university plans.

I had multiple opportunities to go to various conferences and did indeed attend some which were all covered by the company. These tended to be work related/field related conferences. I also had the possibility to present my work at the Global meeting so to gather feedback from AZ employees around the world which was a very exciting opportunity. Additionally the opportunity to explore other departments was very exciting and gave me an insight into all the different fields of the drug discovery industry.

There are various opportunities with the graduate scheme and potential job prospects in the move down to Cambridge. However, you are not guanteed a place/job at the end. The training and the experience you gain does give you a head start but not more than at any other company. You will however very likely get at least an interview having gained insight into the company and pick up all the useful hints and tips that you get from working in a company!

Very good social scene with 30 odd strong placement students plus graduates. There are good communications between everyone and you make friends really easily! There are plenty of opportunities to socialise especially with the AZ Freshers scheme that pulls everyone who is new to AZ together. However, with the move down to Cambridge imminent, this is likely to disrupt the size of the students or at least disperse them over the country but there is still a strong community.

Macclesfield is very cheap to live in if you find the right house. You can get a really good house for not very much at all! And the supermarkets in town are easily accessible and pretty cheap too for your weekly shop! In terms of socialising expense, Macclesfield has a football team which are cheap to watch and is only 10 min walk from the edge of the Peaks so great to get your walking boots on (and it's free!)! Also Manchester isn't very far away at not a lot of money and nor actually is London!

Nightlife is interesting in Macclesfield. Not a lot going on, there are a couple of clubs but it's mainly the pubs and bars that are the main attractions with one that has over 50 gins! If you're looking for a mad one, Manchester is the place to go and you can get there and back for fairly cheap train fare. Macclesfield is good fun if you're looking for a cheap and inexpensive place to go!

AZ has its own gym and sporting facilities on site so that was the main draw for sport. Macclesfield also has a rugby, cricket , squash and golf club all within cycling distance so there is lots to do outside of work. Additionally there are a couple of gyms which are very well stocked and have regular classes. At AZ there is a range of different sports, even weird ones like archery and frisbee (the latter I played and it is much fun!)