Digital Services Summer Placement Review

An internship at Siemens has been a really fantastic way to spend the summer. Siemens has provided a positive work environment to which I was welcomed to by my colleagues. As Siemens has a network of interns, graduates and apprentices it has been very enjoyable to share the experience with people in the same position.

As soon as I joined Siemens I was welcomed by my colleagues and was assigned tasks that were designed to challenge me. My colleagues at Siemens clearly wanted to provide me with assignments that would benefit both myself and the business. My colleagues at every level seemed willing to help and were interested in the work I was carrying out.

My line manager and supervisor have been very supportive and patient with me over the last 12 weeks. I was never made to feel like my questions were a nuisance and were very happy to support me when I was struggling. Their guidance has been extremely valuable during my placement and I will take much of their advice onboard as I move forward with my career.

When I arrived at Siemens I was provided with a task list of projects I was participating on throught the course of the summer. The tasks were designed to be challenging and kept me very busy day to day. Additionally should this have not been sufficient work our line manager was open to our requests to work on other projects, which was a realy great opportunity. Further to the day to day work assignments we were able to engage in other tasks such as NEXT UK a group to promote career development skills.

Responsibility came in a number of different forms during my placement. For example I was involved in organizing a team building day for my team. In this task I was trusted to organize a suitable event that was run smoothly, budgeting the event and ensuring everyone was safe whilst taking part. For pieces of work accuracy was critical my colleagues would be happy to check and proof read my work, something I was also trusted to do for other members of the team.

Whilst at Siemens I was given the opportunity to take my yellow belt training. The continuous improvement skills I gained as part of this training can be applied to my work, studies and personal life. Further to this formal training I developed my professional communication skills in an environment where I am supported by experienced professionals, giving me the confidence to lead meetings and present to senior leadership.

Everyone in the office is generally very friendly with a positive attitude towards work. The office i was in had a hot desking policy so I really enjoyed that each day you could be sat with someone different and had the opportunity to learn from them. There was plenty of eating places to be social in during lunch breaks. Furthermore Siemens initiatives such and the Wellbeing team and the diversity board made me feel as though Siemens values its staff as more than just employees and I think this was reflected in the atmosphere in the office.

Though the process of applying and being accepted onto the scheme was later in the year than other company's the organization of my placement in the run up to my internship has been very well organized. I always knew what was required with sufficient time. The placement itself was well structured, my tasks and training were structured well to ensure I made the most of my internship.

Siemens were happy to invest in any of the training required, after the initial required training my manager added some tailored training to our schedule that she thought would benefit us. Siemens places a lot of value in the continuous improvement process and interns were encouraged to get involved with the training and implementation of this process.

The Siemens grad scheme is very appealing to me and am in the process of applying to join the Grad Scheme when I graduate. Siemens appear to want to invest in their employees, offering careers and not simply a job. I find the idea of working for a global company like Siemens very appealing as there are opportunities to connect and work with people from all around the world.

Yes! The graduates, interns and apprentices were all very welcoming to me when I joined. Though there was no formal graduate and apprentice society, we would often have lunch together and occasionally went out after work or during weekends. Prior to beginning the placement all of the interns starting at the same time were put in contact meaning that we could talk to each other to arrange a shared house. It was really nice to share this experience with other people.

Though the cost of housing in the Warwick/Leamington area is quite high. The cost of living/socializing was not particularly high. As we got a discounted rate on the local gym many employees used this gym. A further company discount could be used at the local cinema the other interns and I were able to go to the cinema.

As Leamington Spa is predominantly a student town there wasn't really a nightlife scene that I saw over the summer. If you so desired there are good transport links to neighbouring cities such as Birmingham and London. The nightlife around where I worked seemed to have more of a pub culture than a nightclub one.

The office has a football and a basketball group that I was able to join, but beyond this there was nothing organized by Siemens. However as the office is located half way between Leamington Spa and Warwick there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the local community, my colleagues were very helpful in letting me know what highlights I should see over the summer.