Industrial Placement Student - Genomic Sciences Review

My role is a scientist trainee who would assist other scientist in their experiments. In the first three months, what I did mostly on a day-to-day basis are completing company training protocols, getting familiar with the labs and shadowing other senior scientists. During this period there are also plenty of time to have coffee chats and socialising with other industrial placement (IP) students. From the fourth month to the end of my placement, I got assigned my own projects with detailed guidance from my supervisor. I would get the chance to plan my own experiments, run the experiments under supervision and analyse data.

After the on-boarding period, I was given my own project which is a part of a bigger department experiment. Although I did not feel pressured at any given time during my placement, my supervisor still gave my quite a lot of freedom in setting up and running my experiments which I truly appreciate. I was also expected to do the data analysis and presenting it to the team myself.

I have learnt plenty of useful skills both outside and inside the lab. During my placement, I get hand-on experience with biological equipment from simple ones such as centrifuges, microscope to more the more advanced like the nucleofector (for cellular electroporation), the cytoflex (for running flow cytometry) and FACS sorting. However, I believe my most improved aspect would be mastering basic techniques in the lab like pipetting and improvision during experiments. Outside the lab, statistical tests, data analysis and presentation are valuable skills I learnt throughout my time at GSK. Last but not least, social skills and experience working in a corporate setting also help me tremendously in preparing for my future career

I had a lot of support from my supervisor and other colleagues during my internship. People are very friendly and would be happy to answer any questions I had either inside or outside of work. My supervisor set up a biweekly meeting schedule where I can share any of my struggles or my plan. The company also held quite a lot of supporting sessions ranging from finance to mental health or socializing events in which anyone could participate

The company working culture was productive but also quite flexible. There were no strict control of arriving or leaving the site as long as you finish all your work. My office was also very friendly with people willing to help at any given time

I really enjoyed my placement and I think it was 12 months well spent. What I love most about the placement was a real insight into the pharmaceutical industry and the technical skills I developed during my time at GSK. I feel like this placement definitely had a positive impact on my career while also showing my what I would like to aim for in the near future

Yes