12-month University Industrial Placement Student (UIPS): Synthetic Organic Chemistry Review

Item: 12-month University Industrial Placement Student (UIPS): Synthetic Organic Chemistry at AstraZeneca
Rating: 4.1
Author: Anonymous

at AstraZeneca

Placement (10 Months+)

Chemistry

Macclesfield

Review Submitted: July 2026

Overall Rating

4.1 /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

4/5 - Skills Development

4.5/5 - Support and Guidance

5/5 - Company Culture

3.5/5 - Overall Experience

2/5 - Future Career Prospects

Overview of Role

Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.

I was a synthetic chemist working in a pharmaceutical laboratory. Day to day involved wither doing chemistry in the lab, or writing up reports at my desk.

Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?

I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement. Oftentimes, it was up to me to drive my own work forward and connect with the correct people to do this.

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?

Developed my current laboratory skills. Additionally, I have presented and have had to speak to numerrous people, so I have also developed my interpersonal and presenting skills.

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?

3/5

Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development

4/5

Support and Guidance

How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?

Good support. I had a supervisor assigned to me who I had hourly meetings with every week.

How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?

5/5

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?

Company culture and general atmosphere was very welcoming and inclusive.

How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?

5/5

How would you rate the social opportunities?

5/5

How would you rate the diversity initiatives?

5/5

How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?

5/5

Overall Experience

To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?

I enjoyed my placement, learning new chemistry and meeting new people. My project ended up being quite solo, and so I would have enjoyed more if I was given the opportunity to work on project work with other people, and not remained independent.

Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship

4/5

Please rate how your experience met your expectations

3/5

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend AstraZeneca to a friend?

Yes

What advice would you give to others applying to AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca are a company that hire off of merit and personality. Whilst grades or being smart may help, they look for the type of person you are and soft skills - part time work for example is useful.