Intersnhip- Technical Cleanliness Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement at BMW group. The work was challenging and fulfilled all of my ambitions. I had a project that lasted the duration of the placement, this gave me a goal to work towards and allowed me to get as much out of the placement as I desired.

I feel like I was valued by my colleagues. As a chemist in a mostly engineering environment my input was valued and respected. I was treated the same, for most of the internship, as a full time employee, this means I was given similar responsibilities and trust. My work was always valued by my colleagues.

At BMW a great deal of support and guidance is given both by your supervisor and your peers. Support was always available when required, both with work related matters and pastorally. Management is designed to guide interns to get the most out of their placement and support them along the way.

The days varied widely throughout the 12 months of my placement. However a good work balance was usually achieved. On some days were deadlines approached, lots of things had to be done which meant staying later to complete tasks. But normally, while working on my project, I could control the workflow, allowing for a productive working environment.

I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement. I was in control of a project that could influence analysis methods across the group. This meant testing and trialling new analysis methods and obtaining g reliable results that would be used in the production environment, this involved a lot of responsibility.

The primary skill I developed was to apply my chemistry knowledge in the field to real life situations. This will be valuable if I were to get a chemistry related job in the future. Also I developed my teamwork skills by working closely with a group of technicians in a laboratory.

The general atmosphere in the office was very friendly and welcoming. This environment was also set up to allow maximum productivity. When I first started I was made to feel part of the team from the first day. This developed as I got to know the team in the friendly atmosphere.

The placement was reasonably well organised. Over the 12 months I had one main project which was well structured and planned out. However, as work appeared in different areas of the laboratory, the team had to adapt to the incoming work, this meant I was doing work as and when it was needed.

Training for the required roles was given day to day when it was needed with methods and official instructions to follow and adhere too. However no training courses were available for me to formally develop my skillset. The company did however invest in a business trip for me, which definitely developed my skills.

Job prospects on the site I worked on are limited. Because there is only a small team of chemists the rate at which they take on newly graduated student is quite low. However I am not limited to the chemistry laboratory and I feel I have built up good network of people in order to be deployed elsewhere.

There was a very good social scene amongst fellow placement interns. A large number of interns worked on my site, many from Germany and other countries, this made for a diverse and interesting social scene. Most weekends had something available socially and trips to locations around the UK were also enjoyed.