Sponored Student Scheme Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement at GCHQ and felt that my interests and developments was always a top priority. The work I carried out was very exciting and relevant to the business; it was not just some research project given to keep me occupied that had no relevance after it was completed.

I was never treated as a student on placement but instead as a crucial member of the team. In fact, only a few people that I work closely with on a daily basis even knew I was a student on placement! Everyone I worked with has been very approachable and the department as a whole has felt very welcoming.

My line manager has been extremely supportive over my placement period and has taken an active role in ensuring that I was happy with the work given at every stage. From day one he emphasised the fact that my placement was not just about what I could do for GCHQ, but what GCHQ could do for me, and thus tailored the work given to be challenging and to maximise my development. He also encouraged me to take part in a range of external activities related to GCHQ, such as getting involved in STEMworks (an initiative to engage and encourage more school kids to study science, technology, engineering and maths), even though this meant time off work.

As with most workplaces, the workload varies on a weekly basis. However, there was always work to do and I was never in a position where I was twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do. This was helped by the fact that GCHQ operates a flexi-time policy, meaning that you could stay longer one day if the workload was bigger and take time off when the workload was smaller.

To begin with, while I was still getting to grips with the new atmosphere, I was given work which gave me little responsibility. However, after I had demonstrated my abilities and maturity with this work, my responsibilities grew and I was surprised that given the nature of the work at GCHQ, I was given a lot of responsibility.

The work I was given was tailored specifically to my skills. Although occasionally the work I was set required me to build on the skills I already had gained from university, most often I was given work which required skills that I did not yet have. This was done deliberately to take me out of my 'comfort zone', which meant I was learning new skills on a daily basis. However, I was never thrown in at the deep end, and I was always given full training before starting a task which I knew little about. For example, my line manager identified that I had not programmed in C++ before, and therefore tailored the work so that I had a chance to develop this new ability.

I expected the work environment at GCHQ to be very strict and stressful so was very surprised to find that it was the complete opposite. The general atmosphere around the office is always relaxed and a pleasant place to work. GCHQ use an open plan office layout, making it easy to talk with the rest of the team.

The placement was organised extremely well, with the combined efforts of my placement supervisors and line manager. For example, my initial work deliberately required me to talk to many different members of the team, as well as different departments with whom we work closely with. This was done to allow me to meet the people I was going to be working with during my placement but also to help me understand the variety of the department. The placement manager occasionally set up coffee meetings with me to ensure the placement was still going well, and to also give me chance to voice any concerns.

During my placement, GCHQ invested heavily in my personal development, including paying for numerous training courses (including topics I felt were 'missed out' by my course at University). It was a shock that training was never denied on the basis that I was only a short term student.

I would very much like to return to GCHQ after my graduation as a result of having such a pleasant and fun placement. I feel that although I could be doing similar jobs in other companies, none of them would have the same work ethic as GCHQ.

Cheltenham as a whole is quite an expensive place to live. Drinks varied depending on where about in Cheltenham you go, but the price of a pint averages around £3.

There was a stark contrast in nightlife when moving from Plymouth to Cheltenham (which doesn't have quite the same vibrant nightlife of the bigger cities. However, Bristol being close by caters for this.

All sponsored students were made aware of external activities in which they could get involved in. During my placement I was involved in numerous external activities set up by GCHQ, such as the Cheltenham Science Festival and STEMworks (mentioned earlier). For the Science Festival, a colleague and I designed and implemented a 'data routing game' for GCHQ's stand which tried to educate the public on certain cyber threats (such as malware and DDOS attacks). We were given work-time in which to do this. With regard to STEMworks, GCHQ allowed me time off work (paid) to attend school workshops and afterschool clubs.