Spring intern Review

I really enjoyed the insight week. It was a great opportunity to meet people from different universities and build your network. I learnt a lot about the industry and UBS in particular. It was a great exposure and also an amazing opportunity to hear from senior people in the industry and ask them questions, helping me to understand much more about the work in investment banks.

I feel that UBS treated all the spring interns very well. The people whom I shadowed with are very friendly and approachable. Moreover, I feel that a lot of the senior people sacrificed their precious time to talk to us which made me feel that the company did value spring interns like us.

I received an email prior to the Spring Insight Programmes about preparation so that we get the most out of this one week. Moreover, during the programme, when we did various workshops, some people had some finance knowledge while I did not. I felt that the recent graduates were very helpful in guiding met through.

I skills I developed may not directly be relevant to my degree. However, it will definitely be helpful in the future when I do internship or job applications since the Spring Insight offered us some skills session. Moreover, since we learnt more about the industry and UBS, the information is helpful in helping me make a decision whether to work in the industry.

The Spring Insight was well structured. We started of with a very broad and general introduction to investment banks before delving further into each division and what they do, followed by workshops/simulations for us to get a flavour of what types of analysis each division has to do. Only that I wished someone could teach us a little more before launching into the workshops.

It is a very warm and welcoming environment at UBS. Everyone is so friendly. The fellow Spring interns are all very friendly too. I feel very comfortable which makes the experience even more memorable. This aspect caught me by surprise since I was scared everyone would be aggressive and competitive and I could not fit in.

Definitely, I felt that UBS had invested in the programme from the application/selection process to the Insight week itself. Members of the business invested some of their precious time sharing with us their experience. I felt I learnt a lot during the work shadowing which was a 3-4 hour session with someone working in the division of your interest. This is a very focused session since you only go in pair. It was the investment the firm spent on us.

The Spring Insight does give an idea of what it would be like working in a firm. However, since it was only a one-week program and we did not particularly work, I cannot say I have a very clear picture of what it would be like having a full-time role in the company. Be that as it may, it was a great exposure.

The insight does give me a better understanding of the company culture. And I think UBS does place a lot of emphasis in conveying to us the company culture. There were various sessions that explain to us what UBS is like and people who came to share also talk about the culture. I therefore feel that the culture is deeply ingrained in each individual.

The content is really comprehensive ranging from general information about the industry to specific divisions. It will definitely help me decide about my future career path. However, I find that sitting down with someone from that division and asking them questions during work-shadowing session help you learn even more than listening to talks.

Since I am studying in a London university, my accommodation and travel expenses are not reimbursed.

There were not many networking opportunities with employees of the company since everyone is probably busy, However, we got many opportunities to meet employees of the company as they came to give a talk/share with us their experiences or ran workshops. Those are the opportunities we can ask questions.

There was a social event for all the Spring Interns to bond with each other on the very first day. I think it is a really great opportunity so that you can get along well with each other which helps working together in the subsequent days much easier. It was at a nice bar with dinner and drinks provided.

I found out that they could volunteer and sometimes employees arrange their own trips within their teams so that they can bond with each other better. Moreover, there is a table tennis table in the office for employees to bond with each other through sports. There is also gym for employees in the office.

I would recommend this insight to a friend as it does not only expose them to the industry and have a better understanding of the work in a financial industry but also teach them various skills as well as an amazing networking opportunity. It is definitely beneficial in many aspects and a good return on investment of your time.