Data science intern Review

Overall, I really enjoyed this placement. The work was really interesting and it's a great environment to work in.

Working on a project in a group meant that I was constantly working with other people. I felt valued amongst my team members throughout the whole project. Full-time staff also valued the work we were doing.

My supervisor was great, she was always happy to talk through problems and give us help when we needed. Other staff were very approachable and always offered help and advice when asked. Always felt comfortable going and speaking to people and was always easy to set up meetings if they were not about.

As we were working on a project the pace was really up to us. There was always work to do and how busy we were depended on how hard we were working.

Working on a project meant that we had a lot of responsibility for what we created. The way we worked and how we approached the work was up to us. A weekly demo allowed us to discuss the work and plan out future work with our supervisor.

I have definitely learned a lot on this placement. They gave us additional training on presentation skills, git, and general software engineering practice. But working on the project itself developed my programming ability and data science knowledge considerably.

The atmosphere was very relaxed. All the interns worked in one big room where there were couches and whiteboards to allow us to develop and discuss ideas. The dress code was very relaxed and most days I could wear t-shirts and shorts when it was warm.

Everything was well organised. We had a lot of freedom on which projects we wanted to work on, and although we had a lot of freedom throughout the week, the weekly demos were great when planning the next week.

We were only here for 8 weeks so this wasn't as relevant. There was opportunities each week to develop data science and cyber security skills at the lunchtime clubs... with free dominos.

Roke offer an interesting graduate graduate program which we have been encouraged to apply for. Even though we completed the placement, we still have to apply for the program. It hasn't been made completely clear what the recruitment process means for us who have completed a placement.

There was a decent social scene. I became close to my fellow team members and we managed to do things outside of work.

Cost of living was reasonable at around £110 per week. It was cheaper than my university accommodation costs. Going to spoons to socialise meant that it could be reasonably cheap.

Southampton has nightclubs, bars, and pubs so if you are staying there it is great. If you were staying in the Romsey area then there is probably not as much for you to do.

There were loads of opportunities! Roke has a great sports and social club so you could play tennis, go to the gym, or even go fishing.