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Biological Sciences Industrial Placement Student Review

at GSK

Placement (10 Months+)

Pharmaceutical, Research, Science

Stevenage

Review Submitted: May 2024

Overall Rating

4.7 /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!

4/5 - Overview of Role
5/5 - Skills Development
4.5/5 - Support and Guidance
4.8/5 - Company Culture
5/5 - Overall Experience
4/5 - Future Career Prospects

Overview of Role

Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
I am a lab-based scientist so I split my time between the lab, working on different kind of experiments, and the office, planning the experiments and analysing data from them. I attend group meetings which are mostly centred around the science. I also do other extra activities such as being a STEM ambassador and events organised by the placement student "society" within the company.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
Yes quite a lot. At the start for maybe 1 or 2 months it was a lot of training, shadowing and helping with other people's experiments. Since then I have had my own project which I make decisions about and am responsible for. My supervisors and managers and other colleagues are there to help if necessary but otherwise I have been able to be quite independent.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
4/5

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
So many! I have developed my general workplace and transferable skills such as time management, networking and communication, and learnt many scientific skills such as experimental design, data analysis, how to use different analysis software, and specific lab techniques that I couldn't learn at university.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
5/5
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?
A lot! Weekly 1 to 1 supervisor meetings are a requirement for students undertaking a placement, and you an ask anybody questions at any time and they are all friendly and willing to help. We also have development and information sessions run for all placement students.
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?
4/5

Company Culture

What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The culture at GSK is amazing, everyone is generous with their time and you can approach anyone if you want to talk to them (e.g. you are interested in their job). There is a strong sense that everyone is doing the right thing for the right reasons. There are a lot of site activities to build community, e.g. Christmas lunches, science days and community group presentations and stalls.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
5/5
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 really enjoyed it as it has given me the opportunity to learn so many things I wouldn't otherwise have learnt at uni. I have been able to gain confidence and independence, and there is a great community of placement students so I haven't missed the social aspect of uni too much.
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 GSK
4/5

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend GSK to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to GSK
Would definitely recommend, couldn't imagine a better, more supportive company to do a placement at. When applying, make sure you know some background information about GSK, e.g. company aims and culture, and mention this when asked why you want to work for them.
In This Review
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