I couldn’t recommend doing an industrial placement enough

Anthony Griffiths
Anthony Griffiths
Undergraduate student
MChem Chemistry with Study in Industry
Anthony did a year-long placement at the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca as part of his course, which helped him work out what he'd like to do after graduation.

I carried out my industrial placement at AstraZeneca in Macclesfield working as an analytical scientist. This involved using various analytical techniques to carry out important analyses on a range of on-market and under development pharmaceuticals. Whilst on my placement, I also carried out a 10-week research project looking into the development of sample preparation techniques for the quantitative analysis of paediatric drugs after interaction with complex matrices.


Throughout the course of the year, not only were my practical laboratory skills greatly enhanced, but also various other skills that are useful within every workplace such as teamwork, time management, communication and presenting. I also had the opportunity to become a Registered Scientist (RSci) with the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Anthony Griffiths

MChem Chemistry with Study in Industry


The thing that I enjoyed most about my placement year were the people that I met along the way and the general culture in the workplace. Everyone was so friendly and happy to help if I ever needed it, and I have made some great friends. My placement year was my favourite year of my degree so far. I couldn’t recommend doing an industrial placement enough as it has really given me a real flavour of what the working world is like and a good idea as to what I want to do once I graduate.

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