Power Academy Placement Review

I really enjoyed my placement at National Grid this summer. I was placed in a really friendly team and given part of a live project to work on. I had to learn quite a bit about the software being used as well as the theoretical concepts that underpinned the work, but I received a lot of help and guidance from people in my team. I feel like I left my placement knowing a lot more and also having developed programming skills.

I felt extremely valued by those in my immediate team, and also by the company as a whole. My team treated me as if I was a full time member of staff, they invited me to all their meetings, training sessions and even to the team day out. They also frequently offered to help me with work tasks.

My manager had weekly meetings with me but given that I sat next to him I could always just ask him questions if I had any. He was really good at helping me prepare for the interim and final reviews with HR. He also introduced me to people in the company who worked in different departments.

Quite predictably, at the start when I was still learning what I was doing it was quieter and then as I approached the end of my placement things felt busier as I wanted to make sure I finished my project. I would never say I was overwhelmed but if you want to you can certainly find work to keep you busy.

I was given a part of a larger project that was being carried out so it was definitely 'real work' that needed done. I was included in the project management meetings each week and I presented my work to a wider audience within the company for feedback. I had a handover meeting at the end so I assume my work will be used in the future.

I have done several internships with National Grid and this is the placement in which I have most felt that the knowledge/skills I have developed will help me in university. This year I am taking power systems classes which directly relate to the work I did over the summer. I am finding that it is massively helping as when we are introduced to certain concepts in lectures it is not the first time I'm encountering them.

The general atmosphere was very good in the office. People seemed enthusiastic about their jobs and would talk to you about their jobs if you asked. The team I was in seemed motivated and like they cared about the work they did. It is a good mix between formal and informal - it's ok to chat and ask questions but at the same time if people need to get work done it's ok to keep your head down or go to a dedicated study room/area. My manager was relaxed about what time I came in at as long as I worked the hours I needed to (I chose to do 8am - 4:30pm ish) and at the same time if you wanted to stay a bit later to get things finished this was ok as well.

It was extremely well organised. We had laptops ready on day one and we got a full induction. We were made aware of the presentation and review dates well ahead of time. It was clear who you could speak to if you had problems. We got allocated a buddy from the grad scheme who could answer specific questions about joining the scheme. All in all the organisation of the placement was excellent and it appears a lot of thought has gone into it. The fault I could mention is that we didn't get given full security passes so every morning we had to sign in as guests, which wasn't ideal but you quickly got used to it.

A large emphasis in the placement was put on personal development and lots of resources were available to you. In the induction we were shown how to make a development plan and our managers helped us add to it. The interim and final reviews were very focused on how you had developed. In terms of training, we were all given presentation training and I was also able to attend short training courses that others in my department were going to.

I was very pleased to be offered a place on the graduate scheme in my final week of the placement. I have accepted this offer as based on several placements I have done with National Grid I am very enthusiastic to work there. I was able to learn a lot about the graduate scheme on this placement: from speaking to current graduates, speaking to the co-coordinators of the graduate scheme and seeing the training and support offered I think it would be an excellent place to do a graduate scheme.

The social side of the placement was fantastic this year. As a group of 10 students we would socialise most evenings and weekends in Leamington. We ate out, did pub quizzes, movie nights and cooked in together. We also had lunch at work together every day as well. It made spending the summer down in Leamington so much more enjoyable having such a good group of people to socialise with.

The rent was pretty high because Leamington is quite small but has a large student and graduate population. Once you're there though, the actual cost of living is broadly comparable to any other student city. It's possible to eat and drink out reasonably and there are a lot of big supermarkets which are affordable.

There are a few bars which are really good that run pub quizzes and have roof terraces etc. I'm not a huge nightclub fan but there are a few in Leamington which seem alright. It isn't a huge place but we were never stuck for something to do. It's also very close to Birmingham and it's really easy to get to London.

We mostly organised our social events ourselves so in that regard there was a lot to do outside of work as we made an effort to organise things. In terms of things provided by the company, there is a noticeboard that has information about lots of different sports clubs/groups which I think you would be welcome to attend. I didn't make use of this due to the short time we were in Leamington and the fact that we all socialised together outside of work, but the option was there.