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Higherin
AstraZeneca

Placement Student - BioPharma Review

at AstraZeneca

Placement (10 Months+)

Research, Pharmaceutical

Cambridge

Review Submitted: July 2023

Overall Rating

4.5 /5

The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!

3/5 - Overview of Role
4.8/5 - Skills Development
5/5 - Support and Guidance
4/5 - Company Culture
5/5 - Overall Experience
5/5 - Future Career Prospects

Overview of Role

Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
A typical day would consist of a few hours of lab work (usually carried out throughout the day) and office work. Office work mainly consists of writing up experiments, analyzing data, planning future experiments and meetings. Lab work varies over each day and is experiment specific.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
I was given complete responsibility over my project. I received substantial support from my supervisors and team to support me throughout my time on my placement. The level of independence on the project does depend on the project and supervision, however there is a comfortable flow of communication and supervisors are very open to discussion so if you have a preference it can be accommodated.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
3/5

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
I have learnt a wide array of new skills. To name a few: communication, presenting, data analysis, problem solving, critical thinking, planning and a wide range of lab skills.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
4/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
5/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
5/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
5/5

Support and Guidance

How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
I received as much support as I requested. During the first months of my placement, this was quite a lot, however as I developed I required less support and my supervisor gave me the space to be independent. My team and all staff are incredibly supportive and everyone is always happy to help so I never felt like I did not have enough support.
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
5/5
How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
5/5

Company Culture

What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The company has a very friendly and open atmosphere. Collaboration is highly emphasized so a steady communication between employees is encouraged. Staff are very open to discussions and are always happy to help if you reach out. There are multiple employee resource groups (similar to societies at University), which encourages socializing with employees.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
3/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
4/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
4/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
5/5

Overall Experience

To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on my placement. My development has been exponential with the help of everyone at the company. It has been an incredible experience and kickstarted my career in science.
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
5/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
5/5

Future Career Prospects

Please rate the future employment prospects at AstraZeneca
5/5

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend AstraZeneca to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to AstraZeneca
I would recommend being yourself. They just want to see a passion for science and your potential. You are not expected to know anything when you join so they just want to see that you can learn and that you fit in with the values of the company.
In This Review
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