Risk - Regulatory Projects Team Review

In terms of pure enjoyment, I did not enjoy the placement much because it was so far out of comfort zone. However, the fact it was so difficult means it was very taxing and I developed many new skills. I enjoyed the learning aspects of the internship though and I enjoyed the freedom I was given to find how my skillset could contribute to my team's activities.

I can't put it as 10 because "Like Family" doesn't describe the atmosphere very well, but everyone I spoke to was keen to help me in any way they could. They did not pander to me by giving me tasks that would simply keep me busy with no real use, which I appreciated. Even a very senior colleague often found time to speak to me about the way things work within the group, which gave me valuable insight.

I have a number of disabilities and this was my first ever job so this was harder for me than most other interns. My line manager was extremely flexible in defining expectations for me and was very clear in what I needed to do. I felt like he tried to adapt towards my working pattern to allow a good balance of activities that used my skills but also things that I needed to develop.

I had enough different projects to do to that I never had nothing to do and I was able to dynamically switch if I stalled on a particular piece of work. I was also able to suggest new pieces of work that I felt might be useful and had the freedom to integrate them into my workflow.

I had a decent amount of responsibility, relative to my level of experience and understanding. I was able to assist many different team members and whilst the difficulty of tasks I was given was relatively easy by the team's standards (not necessarily by mine), I was trusted to complete them and to ask for help if I needed them.

The skills I have learned will not particularly assist in my degree studies necessarily because they are a very different skillset, but that's even better because it means I am going to be more well rounded going forward. The skills I have learned complement my existing skillset and personality. They are also things that I wouldn't learn in my degree course.

People were mostly focussed on work, but the team that I worked in only had 8 people and we were all without talking distance so we could easily ask for help or work together. This also meant we could discuss stuff more casually also when the opportunity came up (for example, Friday afternoons)

It was very organised, but I wish I had known details sooner. I felt like we were being trickle fed info in the months leading up to the internship and I found this quite stressful. I don't think that's an issue with the internship, more about my issue with letting go of control and trusting blindly.

Multiple hours were spent by team members teaching and advising me. Some tasks that would've been quicker for an existing team member to do were shown to me so that I could do it in future. The accommodation was also paid for, which was appreciated. The hourly rate was also good.

Quite low but not because of the placement itself, but because of me and my personality. Doing the internship has highlighted to me my passion for biochemistry and a career in research, but due to the nice working environment, I would consider working within this organisation again.

It's hard to say because I am not a very social person. Interns would often go out for lunch together and tools like Hive meant we could keep in contact. Some of the people on the graduate scheme would socialise with us occasionally also. There was a sense of camaraderie due to us all experiencing similar things (such as the feeling of being out of our depth for the first few weeks for example)

Pretty high, but not nearly as high as where I usually live so it felt relatively refreshing. I lived rent free though so I'm not sure how applicable this insight is. When you remove rent from the equation, things don't vary all that much. I found buses and parking quite expensive though.

I'm not at nightlife person so I can't comment on a personal note but the other interns went out every week (if not multiple times per week) and they rarely went to the same club, so I can only guess that mean's it's pretty good. Certainly a higher variety than in Oxford where I live.

We were encouraged to take part in the intern charity challenge where we would help raise funds and awareness for Lloyds Banking Group's charity partner of the year, Mental Health UK. It was a great chance to meet with and work with other interns in a less formal environment. I enjoyed having that as a small break.