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AstraZeneca

Data Science Placement Student Review

at AstraZeneca

Placement (10 Months+)

Data Analysis

Macclesfield

Review Submitted: June 2025

Overall Rating

4.3 /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!

5/5 - Overview of Role
4.3/5 - Skills Development
4/5 - Support and Guidance
4.3/5 - Company Culture
5/5 - 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.
My role involved using a python package called Streamlit to create web applications to automate various processes across the company. For example, I had one project to measure crystal growth and one to control various lab equipment. Coding was the majority of my work, however projects also involve receiving and implementing user feedback, and towards the end of my placement I had to ensure all of my projects had been handed off to someone else to take care of them.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
Yes. While working on my project, I of course have the opportunity to ask anyone for advice or help, but personally I like to solve things on my own, so a lot of my coding work was individual, and I would only catch up with people at our regularly scheduled meetings to discuss progress. I also presented about my project on a few occasions at internal and external meetings.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
5/5

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
I have hugely developed my python skills and discovered many new libraries, such as OpenCV, which deals with analysing images. Also software like GitHub and VSCode, which I had little experience of before, now are used regularly even in my out-of-work projects. The final python related thing I learn about is virtual environments using Conda and Pip, which I now understand a lot more than I did when I was first introduced to them.
Naturally, with an office-based job I have also developed my interpersonal skills and now feel more comfortable speaking up in meetings etc.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
3/5
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 got all that I needed. With coding, a lot of information is available from the internet, however for company specific information like connecting to AZ clusters or our solvents database I was able to ask other members of my team and they were very helpful.
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
4/5
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?
Very good, there are many societies to join, for example I joined a board game club and a 5-a-side football group, and everyone was very welcoming. Although daunting at first, the campus is very nice with lots of outdoor areas, meaning it is an enjoyable place to work.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
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?
4/5

Overall Experience

To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
I enjoyed it very much, and would have preferred to stay permanently instead of having to go back for my third year of university, as it is work that I enjoy doing at a place I enjoy doing it.
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
3/5

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend AstraZeneca to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to AstraZeneca
Join societies early as it helps you get integrated quicker and you will get to know a lot of people
In This Review
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