Applying for an Industrial placement: What does it involve? Part 1: Information sessions

As part of your degree here at the University of Leicester, whether it be one from the Biological Sciences or Medical stream, you have the option of applying for a year in industry between the second and third years of your course. This is also known as a ‘sandwich year’ and converts your degree from eg: ‘BSc Medical Physiology’ to ‘BSc in Medical Physiology with Intercalated Year’.
I recently received a comment from a UOL 2nd year student in a blog post I wrote about my industrial placement (IP) with GlaxoSmith Kline, asking about what the IP application process involved and if I had any tips/ insight to give to him. So here goes Part 1 of ‘What does the Industrial Placement application process involve?’

Please note that what I write will be based on my experiences of applying for placements in October 2011 and current selection processes therefore may differ to what I describe.

The UOL is great in the support they offer to their students and I found it was no different when I started my second year and found that applications for industrial placements were open and I had limited idea of what was involved. Dr John Mitcheson (Lecturer in the Cell Physiology and Pharmacology department) was the IP co-ordinator (he still is but now works on it with Dr Primrose Freestone: Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation) and he set up these information sessions on Wednesday afternoons, where he initially began with describing what an IP year is and then talked us through the main stages of the application process.

What I remember to be particularly helpful was that Dr Mitcheson  invited a third year student who had just returned from her placement at Novartis to give us an insight into what it was actually like undertaking an IP year and as I recall, she said that it was amazing and she had no regrets whatsoever. And so far, I’m feeling the same way!

Definitely attend these sessions if they are still being held and if you are able to. It will undoubtedly prove to be helpful. If they are not being held or if you are unable to attend them, try contacting these lecturers and arrange a meeting with them to discuss your application and to ask any questions you may have. I’m sure they will be willing to help.

Keep an eye out for my next post on the dreaded industrial placement application form!