Summer Internship Review

I really enjoyed this work placement. The work I did was varied and incredibly interesting. I got to work with multiple teams on different projects and undertake work that was interesting and new allowing me to build up my skills and experiences. The work I did was then used by my colleagues for things they were working on, making it feel worthwhile.

I really felt valued by my colleagues. They were friendly and always willing to help when I had questions. I also had the opportunity to work on projects with lots of them which showed the value they placed in my work. I also spoke in meetings of the work I carried out in order to explain what I was doing and how that interacted with my colleagues' work.

I was given all the support I needed. The placement I carried out was a lot of independent working but whenever I needed help or advice I knew who to ask and would be given the support I asked for. My manager also checked in on me frequently throughout my time to check that everything was still going well for me.

I wasn't too busy on a daily basis. I was given multiple projects to carry out during my time here, however it wasn't overwhelming as most of them were for the duration of my time working here. I did occasionally have to ask for more work to do during my time here as I had run out, but this was only rarely.

The work that I carried out was important for the team and did impact on my colleagues. I was largely left to carry it out independently and left alone to ensure it was completed. I was given a task of what they wanted and then left responsible to carry that out in the way I saw fit to do so.

I gained a lot of important skills, both scientific and interpersonal. I developed my people skills, problem solving and communication, as well as specific skills such as certain microbiology skills. I have really developed during my time on this placement

The atmosphere in the office was really welcoming and super friendly. With smart working, you sat with a different configuration of people each day and so got to meet a lot of people. As you were sat in teams you were always near people that you knew and could help if you had a problem, so the atmosphere was always really friendly with people helping out when possible.

The team I was with had organised my placement and had an idea of what it was that they wanted me to do. However as I was the first summer placement student that they had had for a while, there were a few teething problems with certain issues, such as the level of work that I was given and ensuring that I was included in all meetings necessary.

I had a lot of opportunity to develop. Due to my degree, I was allowed to work with a different team for part of my placement in order to learn different skills and develop further. This was really useful as it meant I had the opportunity to try out techniques that I had never done before.

They are currently recruiting, and I know offer graduate roles. I am hoping to apply for a graduate role when they open this year so I can come back once I have graduated from university and work here full time. There are constant job opportunities available at this company currently

Yes, there were some opportunities that were put up for placement students however I did not attend them all. There is also a huge social scene for all new starters, not just the placement students which is really active and a good way to meet new people. However as I lived quite a distance from work, I did not tend to go on these.

I lived at home for the duration of this placement because it was just about commutable. Therefore my living costs were substantially lower than those if I had moved for the job. I also did not really socialise during my placement due to the travel distance, so could not really say

There isn't really any nightlife that I am aware of in the area that I lived in. I am also not really sure of the nightlife in the area that I work as I am not local. However I think that there is some nightlife in the local area although I could not tell you what!

Yes, the new starters society that I have previously mentioned did in fact have different events that you could go on. These varied from pub quizzes, to trips to theme parks etc. These were also very frequent, at least one a month. This meant that you could socialise with work colleagues outside of work.