GDS Intern Review

I was working at GDS which is the tech arm of the Government. It was super cool working in a more tech-focused environment but I felt I was really lacking in the "government" feel that working at Whitehall could give. Nevertheless working in a more relaxed environment with up and coming technology was a privilege.

My team at GDS were truly like family and really cared about my growth and development. [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] Clearly there is some superiority complex with those working in "higher up" places.

My manager and team at GDS were really amazing and gave me plenty of opportunities to grow and challenge myself at GDS, although the work in the first few weeks was a but stagnant. Again the central SDIP team were difficult dealing with; althought they ran some truly wonderful events like the crisis management event at ministry of defence, many interns aren't given the chance to attend other unique events like visits to downing street and the team got very rude with a lot of interns who were merely asking about potential future events!

At the start of my placement i had little to do other than shadow meetings, but this work naturally built up. Only at GDS you're not really working with strategy or genuine government policy but this also is a nice reprieve it itself.

A fair amount but not too much unlike others I know at more central departments.

The mentor programme was truly wonderful and help from other fast streamers themselves was invaluable. Again dealing with the SDIP team themselves was a nightmare as they were extremely rude to many interns

GDS is very relaxed and friendly to work in, the stress only really kicked in when Brexit content was being dealt with. Events with other interns were amazing as they are very like-minded.

GDS organised my internship very well as I was kept in the loop frequently. I know others were left waiting months to find out their start dates at other departments. I was at a big disadvantage starting the programme late because my semester abroad didn't end until mid-July, and the central team were very unsympathetic about this when it come to signing up to events etc.

GDS never stopped encouraging me! I would happily work with GDS in the future but would liked to have seen more of central government .

I do feel more prepared for the Fast Stream but if other departments and teams are as rude as the SDIP team are then I wouldn't feel too encouraged.

Other interns were very social and proactive in organising our own events outside of work

I had to commute from Guildford to work - about £400+ for a train ticket a month that I had to fund myself which i found extremely unfair when other interns would frequently travel from up north to London at the cost of £300+ per trip. London is very expensive but i suppose the allowance helps