IS Intern Review

The internship was challenging because I ended up doing things that I don't feel I specialise in. In addition, there is a problem (in my opinion) with the security. It's overkill. You can't plug in flash drives into your laptop, you can't connect to any network except centricas (which blocks tons of websites such as software download pages and emails)... It can be an absolute nightmare just to get a file from one device to another. You can't install anything on your device. All of that has to be requested and renewed periodically, only if your purpose is deemed worthy of granting these rights. That is a big part of reason why I opted out of the grad scheme - I can't put up with having to fight the system side to side to my actual projects. Of course, there is also a good side. Everyone is really nice and motivated to make your internship as valuable as possible in terms of what you learn and achieve. There is a good focus on safety and everyone puts real trust into you, giving you real jobs to tackle. They also have some great benefit schemes if you decide to stay. I'm going to give it a 5 as it was a real struggle sometimes. I have, however, learnt a lot of new things, which will definitely help me find the right path for me in the future.

Everyone was extremely welcoming and helpful. I have received all the support I could have reasonably expected and I do feel like I will be leaving friends behind when I'm leaving. I simply have no negative comments here.

Support and guidance was always available when I needed it. That is one of the reasons I feel like I have learnt a lot during this internship - it was a great opportunity to learn about myself.

It was a bit of a slow start, but generally there was always something o work on, while at the saem time I was not pressured too much. There have been times where I waited for my team and third parties to complete tasks that I needed finished before I could do my own work, but that could have been avoided by me managing my time better.

I got the chance to write an app for Verifone and solve some real issues within the company (not sure if I should talk about them so I won't). It was up to me to take initiative and make real things happen! I feel it was great.

I feel that I have had some insane personal development here. Working on my personality and working with it to make life easier for me and everybody around. In terms of technical knowledge, I have learnt various tools used in the company and got the chance to try out iOS development, which might come in handy in the future. But the real progress, like I said, is what I managed to achieve in terms of improving myself with the help of my manager (she really was great!)

It was a bit like family living room. People chatting, TV playing the Olympics. Everyone having a good time. You can see real relationships and personalities around you. Great stuff I'd say.

I had tasks laid out for me and training prepared to introduce me to the team and the work. Everything was great, except I could not use some of their applets due to not having an account created for them. That part proved to be frustrating as I had to spend hours on phone with IT support and it took around a week to get access to the volunteering portal. Didn't even get access at all to "Simply thank you". Other than that - it was great.

I had great training and development sessions with my manager (so that's a good time investment), in addition to going to various training sessions. Travel expenses were paid for too.

This one is really subjective. What might look bad for me could be great for someone else. For me, the issues such as great doubt that I will not get to do exactly what I'd like to (I am an aspiring software developer; tech company would be better for me) and even if I do, I will end up screaming at the screen due to all the overkill security measures make this company is a no-no. Not my cup of tea. Sure, the pay and benefits are great, but I'd like to be able to focus on what I'm doing, not fight for survival within the company...

I don't understand the question. Gonna guess and say 7.

The accommodation was covered by Centrica, which is great! The price of food is alright (I'm not sure about that kinda stuff to be honest) and everything was affordable. Although I'm not a very social kind of person, so I can't elaborate.

Don't know, don't care. I sleep at night.

What kind of activities? Leicester is a fairly large city, so you can find what you'd expect. I honestly don't get the question.