Design Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I felt welcomed and at home from the first day and everyone made the effort to introduce themselves and get to know me. I was given a broad range of real projects to work on individually and as part of a team. I felt like I had a real responsibility and was given the authority to direct my projects and use my creativity to produce new solutions. There was also the opportunity to learn more about Visa as a company- especially through the Intern Summit. A lot of thought had been put into this internship which allowed me to integrate well and feel part of the Visa family.

Something that I thoroughly enjoyed about my work environment was that there was no obvious sense of hierarchy. I felt comfortable to talking to everyone and joining conversations. I was invited in on meetings and allowed to voice my opinions regarding important projects, making me feel valued as much as anyone else in the room. Aside from the work culture, I also felt like I could have a laugh which made me feel at home.

I was constantly in contact with my manager who was always ensuring that I was getting the most out of my experience at Visa. I felt comfortable to go to him with any problems or questions and he was vigilant in ensuring that I was integrating well into work life.

I was given enough work to keep me busy throughout the day and was free to ask for more responsibilities when I felt I could use more of a challenge. Likewise, if I felt overburdened, I could just say so and my manager and I would work out a solution.

I was working of real, live projects which felt exciting and purposeful. However, I was eased into this instead of being thrown into the deep-end straight away. I started off the internship by getting to know new software and learning about different projects in progress. Later, I was able to produce deliverables to stakeholders.

I leant new design software which I believe will significantly improve the throught behind my work as well as my presentation skills. I was constantly having to communicate with different people during my projects and working to deadlines which helped with organisation and professionalism. I was also involved in a lot of human centred design research which emphasised the importance of knowing your customer for an effective outcome.

Fun, exciting and inspirational. I felt very at ease but was also able to focus on my work.

It was clear from the beginning of my application that the internship was very well organised. I was given responsibilities on the first day and was scheduled time to get to know other people in my team. There were also intern events which not only allowed me to meet other interns but also introduced me to Visa as a company. We were even given the opportunity to speak to the CEO of Visa Europe, Charlotte Hogg, as well as hearing from many inspirational people during the Intern Summit.

Lots of investment- presentation skills training, learning more about the company with talks and a visit to the data center, training in Microsoft office applications and networking. There was also a large emphasis on developing our professional image.

There's a huge investment into Visa's next generation which would result in many opportunities for a graduate. I was also very fond of the work environment which would make returning to Visa even more appealing. I enjoyed the projects I was working on and the emphasis on user experience design.

Yes- there were many opportunities to get to know other interns through socials. We would make an effort to meet up during lunch and after work which made the whole experience even more enjoyable. Even though I was the only intern in my department, I still made very good friends.

I live in London and therefore I didn't need to worry about the cost of living. However, Visa lessened the 'cost of living' through a one-off payment to interns at the beginning of the internship which I spent on travel. Socialising in London is expensive however we had a corporate discount in the local area.

There were two 'nightlife-like' social scheduled by the Visa Next Gen team for the interns. They were fun activities in a bar setting which gave us the opportunity to socialise and get to know each other. Any other evenings out were scheduled between interns.

Considering the internship only lasted 3 months, there wasn't enough time to get involved in or learn about activities outside of work. I do know there is a Visa football team and lunchtime yoga/body pump but I haven't heard of many other activities offered.