Research and Development Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the year as I learnt so much technical information which will benefit me in final year at uni and also I learnt a lot about working in a global organisation with strong cultural values. I visited many factories and worked on a variety of projects which helped to make my year very dynamic.

I was often told how much my work was benefiting the teams I was working in and my manager was often gave me feedback during weekly 1:1's. I felt like I was treated the same as everyone else and was also given an award as a thank you of how much the work I did was appreciated.

Regular 1:1's meant that I was always able to ask for help with work I was unsure about and I was often given guidance for my work continually. I also had a mentor and a buddy which helped me to settle in quickly and discuss any things about graduate jobs and about things not necessarily project related too.

I often traveled to different sites and also had to work in the test bakery and pilot plant which meant that it helped to have a good balance between my desk work and practical work which helped to make all my days feel like I had enough to do and always well balanced.

I had my own projects from the start meaning that I was given independence in organising my work and planning when to complete everything to meet the deadlines I am given. I also worked up to running my own trials which helped give me confidence about working along the product development process.

I gained loads of personal and transferable skill throughout the year. I managed to gain a lot of confidence to work in a global organisation which I will definitely take forward into future careers. Also lots of skills I learnt about technical processes have been really valuable which will be useful for future jobs too.

The atmosphere in the office was often a happy, positive and friendly throughout the year and similar with other that I visited as well. Fun cultural days often bought everyone in the office together and made the atmosphere more friendly and relaxed when we weren't always working on projects everyday.

The year was fairly well organsied with my own projects from the start which meant that I had work to do from the start of the year until the very end and the modules we had planned with other interns in different teams throughout the year were well planned.

I had a personal development plan which I started from the beginning and added to throughout the year which meant that as I had learnt new things I was able to continue to develop my skills. I was able to suggest things I wanted to improve and my manager also helped to ensure I was continually developing in relation to what was expected with my uni work too.

Having really enjoyed the placement I have done and the projects that I have worked on so I would definitely consider working at pladis in the future.

There were some different sports groups and activities at lunch time which was open for everyone to join in with if they wished to.