Respiratory, Immunology and Inflammatory Biology Unit Industrial Placement Student Review

My role included both office and laboratory based activities, throughout my placement I was completely on-site based and a typical day would include writing up experiments, researching papers, lab protocols and line meetings.

Initially I was guided on placement and had little individual responsibility, which was and should be expected as a placement student. But as my placement progressed I was given more individual responsibility, and was able to enter the lab entirely alone without need for shadowing or supervision. This was nice as it meant my confidence was built up at the right speed.

I definitely developed new and existing skills on placement, for me personally the independence in the lab meant my time-management, organisation, research and analysis skills benefitted massively. Unintentionally my mathematical skills, program skills (like Excel, PowerPoint, Word etc) and data visualisation skills were all strengthened. As for interpersonal skills, I learnt how to navigate a professional environment as a student and engage with full-time workers efficiently.

As this was my first time working full-time within the industry, the expectations given were broad, from my personal experience the industrial placement program at GSK is different for everybody. Whilst I received medium level support and guidance, I would say this is a grey area and needs more attention.

The company culture itself is great, everybody is very welcoming and eager to learn. I think as a student entering the real working world for the first time this was a very nice culture to work in.

Going into placement I think everyone has this idea that it will change their life entirely for the better, which I don't disagree with but I do think entering a 9-5 for the first time whilst only having been a student part-time employee previously is a big change. I think had I received more intentional and set-in-stone support from the early days of my placement I would have been given a more solid platform to raise my concerns and ideas. Not to say my placement didn't benefit me because it most certainly has! I just think at such a well established company IP's can feel lost, and having that first experience in industry can be daunting to navigate. That being said, I would recommend it to everyone.

Yes