It seems I had only seconds between touching down in Glasgow airport before I was already having to get into uni mode so to summarise consisely exactly how I feel about this placement, and my experience with GSK both in Montrose and in Singapore is truly difficult. I am still mulling it over.

What can I say? I applied for this hoping to get some first-hand insight into the day to day activities that go on within an organisation, to get some idea of the commercial side of business and maybe even make some important contacts. And I've been given this and more. At no stage have there been any limits on the information I had access to. I was made to feel like I could ask any question, listen in on every meeting and even got to be involved in team-building events. I was given complete automonity over my study which gave me the oppertunity to go and talk to people on every level; from the shop floor to the site directors, and even Andrew Witty's direct reports!

At the same time I was always supported and I was bowled over at how quick people were to offer advice and take an active interest, not only in my project but in my career interests as well.

Given the unique opportunity of being able to see sites from two cultures I was made aware of how difficult it is to implement standard procedures across sites but I also felt I was able to learn to be more adaptable and intuitive to these differences.

This was everything I'd hoped for; but what I couldn't anticipate was just how much the people I'd be exposed to would be the most lasting commodity of this placement. The practical experience I've gained from this placement has increased my confidence and will give me a serious advantage when it comes to applying for jobs next year. I will take it with me regardless of what I end up persueing. But the first hand advice from my collegues is the unspoken bonus of this scheme: the people I've met have inspired me and challanged my thinking in equal meassure. It sounds cheesy but just by getting their imput, by wax lyrical-ing about the topics I was looking at or even learning about their own motivations really changed my outlook on what I want to get out of my career.

I've come away with a real love of the company and some of the issues I was encountering on my project have given some great ideas about what I want to pursue as my dissertation topic this year.

The whole experience has been invaluable to me. Thank you all at the Saltire Foundation and at GSK for making this possible and memorable.

Over and out,

Cally