Hello, I'm Abigail Cousins, I recently graduated with a 2:1 in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Glasgow. I found out about the Saltire Scholars programme at a university careers fair - and I'm so glad I applied! I hoped to gain experience working in a professional environment and get to use some of the skills and knowledge from my degree.
I interned at GSK Montrose as a Biometric Solutions Intern, working on the Nymi band project. Nymi bands are wristwatch-like devices, which are used to reduce how often people need to enter their passwords while improving security. My project was focused on identifying areas for improvement at five GSK sites who were moving towards business-as-usual with this technology. Additionally, I was responsible for organising and working with the onsite tech team to carry out updates on the bands at Montrose site.
I gained so much from my internship! My role involved lots of communication with people from many different areas of the business, allowing me to gain confidence and learn from the brilliant people I spoke to. I wrote an in-depth report, identifying areas for focus, and completed the updates to the bands at Montrose site, leading to improvements in ergonomics of use and scanning speed. I also had the opportunity to contact many people throughout the business, including Saltire Scholar alumni, during my time here. This was invaluable, as it allowed me to learn about people's unique career journeys and their advice for someone at the start of their career. Additionally, I organised a bake sale to raise money for the next generation of Saltire Scholars, with the other Saltire Scholars helping on the day - this was really rewarding and also lots of fun!
This internship helped me to develop good organisation skills and helped me to become more confident in reaching out to others in a professional environment. I loved getting to apply what I had learnt in my studies to a real-life project. It really opened my eyes to the breadth of opportunities out there.
If you're considering signing up to the Saltire Scholars programme, go for it! I'm so glad that I did - it made me far more comfortable with applications and let me see what it's like to work in a large company like GSK. I really am so grateful for the opportunities that I've had during this internship. Being a Saltire Scholar has been a privilege and a joy.
