Spring intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed shadowing my fast streamer. They were very helpful and kept me interested and aware of what they were doing. If I was unsure about anything, I was made to feel able to ask questions and comfortably talk to new people. I overall was treated well by everyone in the office.

EDIP is a week long problem so I cannot say that I was given essential work to do but this was due to the limited time I was working in the office. Despite this, my mentor allowed me to feel important by adding me into conversations and asking my opinions.

I received vaste amounts of support from my fast streamer. A key highlight was a tour that I was given which allowed me to gain understandings of my mentors journey into civil service. I was also supported by another fast streamer who spent time aiding me in understanding the inner workings of the department.

I was required to make a research project during the week which I had to present in front of both fast streamer mentors as well as their manager. This was stressful at first as it was a difficult topic. However, I learned alot. The confidence, research and independent skills I gained have been key to my development.

EDIP is a very well planned programme. The first day is an opening ceremony and is a good start. The following few days is spent within the office within every intern's respective departments. The mentor is assigned from the beginning which is also very helpful. The last day is the closing ceremony. All in all very well organised.

It was very enjoyable. As I have explained, by having a mentor who you shadow, it is easier to feel comfortable. The fact that the mentors are fast streamers which means that they are younger and are able to give advice for the summer internship and fast stream which most students would like to apply to.

EDIP is a programme for minority ethnic students. From the very beginning as a result of this, the internship was specifically targeted to students like myself. For this reason I feel as though civil service has invested in me. They could have maintained the investment with special treatment for the summer internship.

Fairly. I got a good understanding of what it would be like to work in the department of international trade. We had many talks from people within the company which broadened my understanding of the job. I particularly noticed how people move up in the department but also change jobs through the system which was helpful.

This is naturally harder to gage due to the lack of time I spent. Culture is broad and an aspect of work you can only really understand after full time work. However, as a Muslim, I was made to feel very comfortable when praying and when matters as such rose.

Very. Civil service is so broad that I was curious as to what actually goes on but didn't have any real understanding of what work would actually include. The internship allowed me to see the department in depth and through the meetings I fully understood how it works. Evidently this was important to me as I applied to the summer internship.

I was reimbursed for travel. Some of my colleagues were reimbursed for their hotels too. However, I was staying with family and this was not necessary.

Through the myriad of talks given we were able to meet different people and gain key information for how they got to their roles. Networking with people around the office was also effective and occured at the tour that my mentor took me on. Due to the informal nature, I felt comfortable talking to everyone.

The opening and closing ceremonies were good opportunities to meet other interns. The lunch and breaks allowed us to meet and discuss our weeks with everyone. I met plenty of interesting people and many attended my university. It was a comfortable setting to make friends and broaden your networking circle.

Not particularly. This was an area I didn't ask much about and personally do not have the most interest in. However, everyone was very friendly and can assume that they have opportunities to get involved with activities outside of work or would be open to doing such events if they do not.

I would absolutely recommend EDIP to my friends. I have told many of my junior students at my university to apply and have explained that is definitely a good opportunity and beneficial for ones CV, networking and general life skills. I gained a lot and this was all in just a week.