Biopharmaceutical R&D Industrial Placement Student Review
at AstraZeneca
Placement (10 Months+)
Pharmaceutical
Cambridge
Review Submitted: August 2022
Overall Rating
4.2 /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
4.8/5
-
Skills Development
3.5/5
-
Support and Guidance
4/5
-
Company Culture
4/5
-
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.
Daily tasks: lab work (including cell culture, solution preparation and assay development), data analysis and presentation, 1:1 and team meetings, literature research
Daily interactions: placement supervisor, placement students, departments across the organization
Responsibilities: completing mandatory trainings, managing lab experiments and data analysis, presenting work to project teams, weekly timesheet submission, attending meetings and symposiums (internal and external), liaising between university and workplace supervisors
Daily interactions: placement supervisor, placement students, departments across the organization
Responsibilities: completing mandatory trainings, managing lab experiments and data analysis, presenting work to project teams, weekly timesheet submission, attending meetings and symposiums (internal and external), liaising between university and workplace supervisors
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
Yes. All work/projects carried out by placement students contribute to impactful projects. Students are independent in their work and are given the opportunity to learn new lab skills and get involved in projects teams/the wider organization on a day-to-day basis.
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?
Training coursing completed include: Biohazard Awareness, Data Protection, Ethics of Human Biological Samples, Lab Health and Safety, Inclusion and Diversity
Personal/professional skills: Time-management, verbal and written communication, teamwork, data analysis and interpretation, problem solving, computational skills, lab skills
Industry-specific skills: drug profiling/quantitative pharmacology experiments, assay development, use of specialized data analysis/computational software
Personal/professional skills: Time-management, verbal and written communication, teamwork, data analysis and interpretation, problem solving, computational skills, lab skills
Industry-specific skills: drug profiling/quantitative pharmacology experiments, assay development, use of specialized data analysis/computational software
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?
Placement students each have their own supervisor(s) for the duration of the year, who are their point of call for project-related and general placement advice and guidance. Experiences with supervisors and wider teams varied between students, but in general the support and communication between students and their teams was good.
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?
3/5
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The culture at AZ can be summarized as welcoming, inclusive, positive and innovative. The companies work and aims are focused helping patients and driving translation of scientific ideas novel medicines.
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?
5/5
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?
My work was interesting and I learned many skills and scientific concepts that I would not have learnt at university alone. My team and AZ as a whole were welcoming and willing to help me learn.
I would have liked to have had more of a say in which project I would be working on. I also think more should have been organized by AZ to connect placement students with each other throughout the placement.
I would have liked to have had more of a say in which project I would be working on. I also think more should have been organized by AZ to connect placement students with each other throughout the placement.
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
4/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
4/5
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
The application process is lengthy and intensive, but good preparation makes it easier. Research the company thoroughly before applying and make sure you have an up to date, relevant CV. During the interviews, make sure you show enthusiasm and willingness to learn, and make sure you come prepared (e.g. know your CV, understand what the role requires and what AZ does, pre-prepare questions).
