MindSphere Innovation Network Intern Review

My placement has provided me with invaluable industrial experience that has taught me a lot. I had the opportunity to work with plenty of incredible people across the various divisions in the business and with plenty of people within the university as well. I look forward to having the opportunity to practice what I've learnt throughout the year.

Despite starting earlier than the rest of my team, it has been really easy for me to get to know them and work alongside them. I have always felt valued and support and in turn I always tried to support them as well and help as much as I could.

The managing team have been fantastic given the conditions, although I would have appreciated seeing them more often. Phone calls and Circuit calls have always been encouraged though, and I have tried to make the most of them. I learnt a lot from my supervisors and I wouldn't really have it any other way.

There have been days when I was incredibly busy and there have been days when I was waiting on other people to get back to me on a variety of matters. Prioritisation of tasks would have made everything more balanced though, and I will keep that in mind for future reference.

On a number of times and matters I was given quite a lot of responsibility throughout the last 11 months and I have enjoyed being able to run the show in a sense, despite the amount of pressure that came with the responsibility. I've learnt to take ownership on a certain number of things and to take responsibility for my actions and decisions.

The people skills I have developed and acquired and the number of various trainings will surely prove themselves useful in the near future. Unfortunately, I haven't developed a large amount of technical skills to help within my degree, but I'm sure this won't be such a big issue in the near future.

Due to the fact that it was a new role and there was no precedent, we worked as we went along, agreeing to work against deliverables and not certain tasks. It was quite easy at times to achieve what we wanted and equally, there were moments when we struggled and I feel like these moments have taught us valuable lessons for future reference.

I felt valued within the company, sensing the effort that was made so that I could be sent on personal development programmes and training sessions. I will surely use what I learnt in these sessions and I feel like the company has done a lot so that I could become the best version of myself whilst working here.

Future employment prospects within the organization are rather appealing right now. It being such a big organization, I'm confident I will manage to find a role that suits my skillset, and equally I am sure I will be seen as a valuable individual, having already worked within the company for a year.

Not being based on a Siemens side was a downside of the placement as I haven't had many chances to meet and socialize with fellow interns or anyone else other than my team. I was aware of this though, and I can't say it bothered me too much as I had the chance to work within one of the university buildings that I also study in.

Sheffield nightlife is really good throughout the year, when the students are in town. I myself not being a huge fan of clubs and going out at night, haven't necessarily gotten involved a lot but I could have done, should I have chosen to. There are plenty of venues around the city centre for anyone and everyone, catering for all tastes and preferences.