Technology Spring Insight Programme Review

The insight was quite extensive with plenty of insight to how Barclays runs as a bank and as a technology company. However, there could have been more insight on how each process within Barclays actually operates, on a more micro and technical level. Many of the more technical areas in technology were glossed over due to the variety of education backgrounds within the Spring Week cohort.

Barclays was very accommodating in terms of our well-being and taking care of us. We were given plenty of freedom in terms of exploring the campus and speaking to employees on the site. We were treated in the way any Barclays employee would be expected to be treated, ensuring we followed the values and ethos Barclays upholds on a day to day basis.

With a number of people assigned to specifically oversee the insight the program, we were always attended to and given help when needed. Questions, no matter what they were, are very much encouraged to be asked. This was seen from the insight week supervisors all the way to senior employees in the company.

As a computer scientist, in terms of the technical aspects within technology, I did not really learn much more than I already knew. However, I did learn a lot about how a huge company like Barclays comes together in order to smoothly operate with so many employees with different roles working together. There was also a big focus on employability and networking. This will definitely help me when working in the real world.

The structure of the week was planned out well ahead, with the use of an app to allow us to communicate with each other and see the kinds of things we would be doing during the week. Although sometimes it would be running slightly late, the supervisors did well to make sure to get back on track.

It has been a very friendly experience, with most of the other people being open and willing to engage. The same applies to the people who work here, who were willing to answer questions and give us a good and insightful view of what it is like to work at Barclays.

From the first day, mentioning and explaining the values of Barclays, it was expected to be upheld by everyone at the spring insight week. But this was also seen in practice by the employees everyday, so it helped to truly understand what the value meant rather than seeing it as words on paper.

I think it is a well polished programme but there may be a chance it may not cater to your exact needs in terms of your career and education due to the wide variety of backgrounds of education everyone has here at the insight week.