Information Systems Intern Review

Loved it! Not only did I get to work on projects that were interesting and challenging, but the people of Redgate are fantastic and I got to know a lot of very interesting and clever people through socials during the summer.

People around the company spoke to me as if I were part of the full time team. People on my team valued my opinions when we had discussions. I was welcomed from day one and given real projects that actually had value.

My manager and team's manager sat very close to me and were always happy to have a chat if I needed any help. When I needed a second opinion on my work they were available and could point out improvements and they also pushed me to try and learn about new things and make the most of my internship.

This varied from day to day. Working in a team which has ticketing can mean that you get an influx of work all at once and then none for a period. Similarly with it being summer and being in a relatively small team, sometimes there weren't many people in which meant more of a demand from support on fewer team members. When this happened projects had to be sacrificed a little because of the support calls.

I was given a couple of projects from the teams list to get on with during the summer. These were projects that otherwise a colleague would have been working on and as such whatever work I would produce would eventually end up being used in production. If the project didn't go very well then the deadline would have been missed and so It was my responsibility to try to manage my work to make sure the projects ran to schedule.

I learnt a lot about working in a team and communicating with people around the business, invaluable skills when applying for jobs. I also learnt about project management and programming which will be helpful for University courses and any future career in software.

The office has a very relaxed atmosphere. If I needed a break from work there would always be people down at the coffee area to go have a chat with. I could also take some time to myself by grabbing a laptop and finding a seat outside or in the atrium, which was useful when trying to get something done and when trying to avoid distraction. In general no one checked up on my whereabouts and I was trusted to get my work done, which meant I could go have a play a game every now and then or go for a walk to clear my head.

My manager had prepared for my arrival, such that I could hit the ground running on day 1 of the placement. We had regular catch ups where we could discuss the work I had been doing, the work i would be doing next and how I was feeling in general with regards to work. I felt like it had been planned out and ran smoothly.

The company allowed me to explore areas which I had previously not been able to before. Through discussions with my manager, we found work for me to do that develop skills in new areas and I had the opportunity to speak to and get advice from specialists in the areas I was working on. People were always willing to help you learn something and share what knowledge they had.

Very appealing. This was my second placement with them and I have accepted an offer to return to them when I graduate. Loved my work over the summer and am looking forward to returning.

This summer there were 7 interns, the internship organisers had arranged for us to have weekly lunches together so that we could get to know each other. They also arranged a welcome and goodbye drinks at the start and end of the summer and we visited the pub as a group regularly throughout. They also gave us some money such that we could organise a social trip where we went to the cinema and got dinner as a group.

Cambridge is reasonably expensive. Approximately £4 for a pint in most pubs. Rent isn't that cheap either although as it's a small city, you can cycle everywhere so you can save on travel costs

Cambridge isn't known for it's clubbing scene. But there are lots of decent pubs around open til about midnight most nights with a few pubs further out open til about 3. If you know where to go then you can definitely have a good time.

There are many sports clubs at Redgate. I personally got involved in the sailing club and wen't sailing with a bunch of colleagues at weekends. This was great fun and great way of getting to know other people who weren't on my team.