University Industrial Placement Student - Analytical Chemistry Review

Completing a range of analytical work which supports the development of late-phase drug products. On a day-to-day basis, this involves carrying out wet lab work (using a range of techniques: dissolution, LC etc.), processing data and writing up lab notebooks. There is also a range of other roles, including transcription checking documents, attending team meetings and participating in employee resource groups.

A good amount of responsibility was given to me during my placement. Once my training was complete, I was given large work packages to work through mostly independently which feed straight into key documents for the drug projects development.

I have learned about a range of new techniques, specifically dissolution, liquid and ion chromatography. While I have had previous experience with other techniques at university, these were completely new to me. I have also learned how to work in environments with different quality standards (GMP/GLS)

There is a great deal of support offered. I have fortnightly meetings with my supervisors, less regular one-on-ones with my line manager (though I can request a meeting if need be). Training throughout was top quality and if I have any issues, I feel very comfortable raising them.

Company culture is great - from a placement student perspective, it is a little community as there are a number of placement students in different disciplines in the same boat. There are different employee resource groups that put on different social events or seminars about inclusivity and diversity which I have found really interesting. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved and meet new people. I would say, the work can be quite fast-paced at times, which can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations regarding timescale. However, this has been resolved quickly in my case.

I really enjoyed my placement - while it didn't necessarily meet what I expected, that's because I didn't know exactly what the job entailed. I found it really interesting to see more of the drug development cycle, had a great team and cohort of placement students, and really appreciated all of the different opportunities available.

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