Spring Intern - Insights Week Review

Great opportunity to see the different divisions of the bank and the types of job that a structure like UBS offers. Very varied presentations, workshops, Q&A sessions with graduates and the bank's management, lots of opportunities to talk with your peers and meet bankers from all over UBS's businesses, a social event is for example organized on the first day for you to be able to meet everyone.

Everything is very well organized by the HR team at UBS, you really feel that everything has been done for you to take the most out of this week and everything just flows in a very fluent fashion : no face time, activities throughout the day, you feel like everything has been perfectly prepared for you to enjoy your insights week.

The HR team is present all week long, they are here to answer any of the questions you might have, whether it be related to logistics, schedule, recruiting, etc. Bankers are also very much available to answer the questions you might have on their jobs, ready to take on their time to take you around and get you to understand what their daily job is.

UBS Insights Week helps you a lot in assessing whether the banking industry would be an industry where you would see yourself build a career or at least work in as a young graduate : you get a very thorough insight of what working there means, the pros and cons of the business, the most recent industry trends, the strategies of the different banks, why would UBS be the best fit among them, etc.

The insight was extremely well structured, very clear schedule, which is being respected all week long, a booklet is distributed for you to have a clear view of what your week is going to look like, you get to have a very broad and diverse view of the different businesses and divisions within the bank in a very timely fashion. Good variation between presentations, conferences, workshops, tours of the different floors, work shadowing.

Good atmosphere throughout the week, a lot is done to make you feel comfortable (breakfast and lunch is provided with everyday), you get to have some breaks for you to chat with your fellow interns, great mix between the interns who come from very different backgrounds and are interested in many different fields (IBD, Sales & Trading, Research, Operations, etc.). Active participation to the activities is highly encouraged and you get to have some very fun moments with the other interns.

You get a lot of opportunities to talk with recent graduates who sometimes have been through the same programme than you are currently in, and they are very available to answer all of your questions and / or concerns about the banking industry and what working at UBS would mean. They specifically describe the training you get to go through as a recent graduate, the different rotational programmes, the mobility opportunities you have and the peer evaluation system.

On the first day, a presentation is made by two people from the company about the culture and the strategy that has been most recently implemented at UBS. Great and insightful view of how the culture of the bank is impregnated in their daily life and in the work they produce, and how that reflects on the relationship with the clients they get to advise and work for. Extremely clear view of the rules and regulations going on in the banking industry and how it is affecting UBS and how the bank involves it in its culture.

Accommodation is provided for those who live outside Greater London, and all the interns concerned live in a very convenient hotel close to the bank (15 min walking from there). Interns also get to have their transportation expenses to come to the Insights Week (but not transportation within London during the week), so for example if you come from a foreign country they will fly you in from where you usually live. Breakfast and lunch are provided with anyway, the only expense you have to personally pay for is dinner.

A lot of events are organized for you to meet people inside the company : social event on the first day where you get to talk to your fellow interns and to the HR, networking lunch on the second day where you get to meet bankers from all divisions. You also get to work shadow one banker during a full afternoon, great opportunity to talk to him and look at what his job looks like on a daily basis. All the bankers doing the presentations all week long usually stay at the end of their presentations for you to talk to them if you have any questions.

A lot of events are organized for you to meet people inside the company : social event on the first day where you get to talk to your fellow interns and to the HR, networking lunch on the second day where you get to meet bankers from all divisions. You also get to work shadow one banker during a full afternoon, great opportunity to talk to him and look at what his job looks like on a daily basis. All the bankers doing the presentations all week long usually stay at the end of their presentations for you to talk to them if you have any questions.

I would definitely recommend the event to a friend who is curious about the banking industry and who would like to have a very deep insight of what working for UBS looks like. The week definitely goes beyond textbooks and allows you to have a in-depth real-life insight in the banking industry. You get to meet great people, whether they be bankers or interns that have the opportunity to be with you at UBS for the week. No hesitation to go there, I would say that it is necessary to participate in such an event if you plan on working there.