Computational Chemistry Placement Student Review
at AstraZeneca
Placement (10 Months+)
Chemistry
Cambridge
Review Submitted: July 2021
Overall Rating
4.1 /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
3.5/5
-
Company Culture
4/5
-
Overall Experience
3/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
I was working remotely for my placement year due to COVID-19. This meant my daily interactions depended heavily on the meetings scheduled for that day, which took place on Microsoft Teams. I was able to plan my work around these meetings and other university commitments. My work involved an independent project and work for current drug discovery projects.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
As I was working remotely, I was given full responsibility over my time-management and often had to work autonomously. Also, my work for drug discovery projects had impact on which compounds were made and tested.
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 about and used many new computational techniques. Additionally, I was able to develop transferable skills, particularly presentation and communication skills. AstraZeneca also have a professional development scheme accredited by the RSC, which allowed me to obtain the award of Registered Scientist (RSci) by the end of my placement.
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?
4/5
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 was lucky to have a very supportive supervisor who gave a lot of guidance when needed, even for university assessments. The majority of support from the wider team was through email with prompt replies or occasional video call. I also had a mentor for the RSci scheme and an advisor from my university, providing additional 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?
As I was working remotely, I did not fully experience the general atmosphere, but the company culture online is very welcoming. There were company-wide events and regular town halls to keep me engaged and feel more included. There were also social events organised for the early career employees, which were fun.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
2/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
4/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
3/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
Given the circumstances, I really enjoyed my placement and was grateful for the experience. I had many opportunities to develop my skills and connect with more experienced scientists. My placement did not match my expectations, but I would love to work at AstraZeneca in the future (and maybe go into the office!).
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
5/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
3/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at AstraZeneca
3/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend AstraZeneca to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to AstraZeneca
The fact I was doing my placement in my fourth year and summer work experience helped my application. The interview day had 3 interviews: one about my application/CV, one asking technical questions and an informal one for questions. I would advise doing some research around drug discovery and intermolecular interactions for the technical interview.
