UCL GBSH Student of the Week: Pietro Singh Digpaul

How has the programme’s structure supported your lifestyle and learning?

In my opinion this programme is a catalyst for independent thought. Rather than being engulfed by, and therefore limited to an excess of content and assignments, I have had the opportunity to explore in great depth topics which truly fascinate me. Inevitably, I have steadily acquired new skills, expertise and a growing appetite for innovation in the biotech and pharma space. 

I also consider the modules offered in Term 1 and Term 2 sufficiently diverse as to allow students to recognise and nurture their personal interests.

How has your time at UCL GBSH shaped or accelerated your career goals?

A key factor that I believe positions UCL GBSH as a world-class institute is the unwavering support offered by its professors, specifically beyond the curriculum. In a relatively short period of time, I have taken great pleasure in undertaking several projects alongside GBSH professors. These include UCL ChangeMakers, UCL Education Conference, and other real-world projects carried out as a research assistant. 

My goal at the beginning of the programme was exclusively to work in biotech and pharma start-up development. At this stage of the course, however, I have found both my academic and professional aspirations to have grown immeasurably.

Can you share a moment when you felt your studies directly connected to real‑world impact or meaningful change?

Our recent attendance at the GSK headquarters in London, organised by our director of studies Prof. Radi Haloub, and generously hosted by GSK, was an incredibly insightful experience. We listened as members of the GSK team gave an account of their work, their experience working for GSK, current problems faced by the company and the industry as a whole, and GSK’s inspiring sustainability and inequality targets. 

We also had the opportunity to query the team and receive operational information that I had not previously been aware of.

What advice would you give someone considering applying to UCL GBSH?

My suggestion to UCL GBSH applicants is to retain a degree of mental flexibility: keep an open mind! 

Due diligence should of course be conducted meticulously. However, I encourage you to also trust yourself, and trust that attending UCL GBSH is a greatly rewarding journey of unique opportunities, fruitful collaborations, occasionally inexplicable assignment feedback, but most importantly, a journey directed by you with the constant support of experts in their respective fields.