Research & Development Intern Review

The placement was very enjoyable and gave a great insight into what working for a large multinational company is like. I was given a lot of responsibility very quickly and given freedom to get on with my work without interruptions. British American Tobacco provide a very useful and enjoyable placement.

All of the employees at British American Tobacco respect and value the placement students like they are full time employees. The all have a lot of trust that work and results they produce will be up to the same high standard as the rest of the employees, they make all the of the students feel very valued.

The management give support where required but do not micro manage. All of the employees are willing to give up time to help assist the students when they require it. The placement team give great support and guidance in other aspects of work that aren't always focused on, for example. soft skills.

Each day was very different, but I was consistently busy throughout my placement with multiple projects and tasking running at once to ensure I always had tasks and work to be completed. If some projects were coming to an end the management were very open to ideas of different work streams that I could complete.

During my placement year I was given a lot of responsibility running 3 projects along side one another whilst also completing tasks for other members of the team where required. My manager would check up on my workstream to ensure I wasn't being over worked but allowed my to manage my own time and prioritise how I saw fit.

The placement has helped me to develop my prioritising and time management skills. This year has also helped me to improve my presentation abilities due to the multiple opportunities given by British American Tobacco to present. These skills along with the knowledge I have developed about how a multination company works will help me massively beyond my studies.

Due to office being very open plan with multiple teams working in the same area it gave off a very fun, happy and relaxed vibe. The office gave a chance for people from different working areas to socialise to help each other but also to solve issues that they may be having with certain projects.

The placement had an extremely good set up, the dedicated placement team were always available for support and guidance where required. They made sure we always had everything we required and were gaining the most possible out of this year. The scheme provided us with opportunities to organise our own events and showcase our work and knowledge alongside our normal work.

The company allowed me to organise my own training from an external company to help me develop further knowledge on a subject which would also allow the company to gain more information from the testing I was able to complete afterwards. I was also able to go on visits to other British American Tobacco sites and see what work they are completing there.

British American Tobacco offer a great global graduate scheme for once you complete your degree, offering the chance to own your own work and projects whilst also moving up the corporate chain quicker. They offer the employees a lot of benefits alongside the normal pay check to ensure you are rewarded for your work.

The placement year is what you make it. The area and colleagues offer lots of opportunities to enjoy your time outside work and make sure you have a good work life balance.

The cost of living is what you would expect to pay for living in a city outside of London. Depending on the type of person you are depends on whether you would have a more expensive year or not.

There are many opportunities to go out and also many different pubs all offering different things, with some being more conventional and others offering different experiences like board games

BAT offer many sports and social clubs for the employees to get involved with, one of the most popular being the Wednesday 5-a-side football league.