Meet Marco | Roche

Hi, I am Marco and I work for the Global Material Quality team at Roche. I am located in Basel, but my colleagues are spread over different Roche sites around the world. During my master’s studies in biotechnology, I decided to take this internship opportunity to explore and learn more about working in an industrial context at one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

After I completed my bachelor’s degree in chemistry, I started studying for my master’s degree in biotechnology at the ETH Zurich. I was eager to get an insight into how it is to work at a pharmaceutical company and to actually help deliver drugs to patients all over the world. This is why I decided to start this internship as part of the Global External Quality programme (RiQEx).

My responsibilities include working with different stakeholders inside and outside of Roche to set up specification documents for chemicals and biological materials used in the process of drug manufacturing.

Compared to my experience at university, science at Roche is…
…closer to the actual patients, to which the drugs and products are delivered. You learn how to overcome challenges that occur while working with these products and you can see the impact that your daily work has.

The Global External Quality programme (RiQEx) helps me to develop because…
…it teaches me how to coordinate with different stakeholders to achieve the best quality for the materials used at Roche. Additionally, it is a global internship and I learn how to collaborate with my team members that are located in different countries. Every team member encourages me to work independently on my different tasks and I am fully integrated into the workflow, which gives me a great feeling of support and trust from the team.

To people who are interested in the Global External Quality programme I would recommend to…
…take advantage of this great internship opportunity to be part of a global team at one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world and learn valuable skills that will definitely be beneficial for your future career.

Our impact

My work helps to ensure that the materials used at different Roche sites follow a smooth process from raw material to finished drug product. Therefore, my team and I make sure that the Roche products have the best possible quality when they are delivered to the patients.

Our culture

The benefits of being an intern at Roche are numerous. First, the work environment is very welcoming and your work-life balance is supported by having flexible working hours. Additionally, there are many opportunities to connect with other interns at Roche through organised events and you also have a great variety of sport opportunities that you can pursue.

Our workplace

My office is located right in the middle of Basel near the train station and therefore I enjoy the benefits of having a short commuting time and having the city of Basel right beside the office. The infrastructure of the workplace is very modern and the cafeteria is great.