Chemical & Process Engineering Summer Intern Review

The placement was very enjoyable. Day to day work was relevant and interesting. Additional enriching activities were available for interns to take part in which were good fun. Considering this was the first year that bp did virtual internships the process went very smoothly and I was given lots of help in setting up so making sure I could get maximum enjoyment out of the activities on offer. I would recommend this internship to my peers.

Colleagues were always happy to take time out of their days to talk to me and share their knowledge of the business/industry. My immediate team was always available to give me support and put me in contact with other colleagues in bp that they thought may be of interest for me to meet. I was treated respectfully and my opinions were valued. Given the circumstances, it could have been difficult to build a network but colleagues were very keen to connect.

I had several people in supervisory and management positions who gave me guidance and assistance during the internship. I had daily calls with my project supervisor, he discussed the project with me in great detail and helped me to find my feet early on. I had weekly check-in calls with my manager where we discussed my progress and development in the role/bp. If I ever had a question my supervisor/manager were prompt to answer and advise me.

There was always something to keep me occupied in the working day. My project took up the majority of my time. However, I had additional time in the day to work on enriching activities like the Lunch and Learns as well as entering the TechnoFest poster competition. If I had been bored I could have contacted my manager who had additional projects that I could have worked on. If I had been too busy I could have contacted my supervisor/hr for help.

I was working alongside my supervisor on my main project during the internship. I carried out work and discussed with him the findings and where I thought the project may lead next. My supervisor was there for guidance and to offer an expert opinion when I got stuck. I was given real responsibility as soon as the project started, I did have some control over what direction the project took and how tasks were delivered (report/presentation/model etc.).

I've developed proficiency with software that the company use. The skills I've developed while learning how to use this software will be very helpful when I go back to university and have to use unfamiliar software again. I wrote a report during my internship on the project I was working on, report writing is something I often struggle with so it was good to receive feedback from a professional. The internship has also developed my ability to prioritise work and understand the scope of individual activities.

N/A Internship was virtual.

Considering bp had never organised a virtual internship before the internship was very well organised and it was clear time had been spent working out how to make these a valuable experience. There were some initial issues with IT from my home laptop but the IT support team were very speedy in sorting the issues out. I was quickly familiarised with my team and the contacts I had available to me in the company to offer me help when I needed.

HR organised presentations on topics such as ethics & compliance, agility/time management. Online e-learning modules were available through my talent & learning which were useful in providing training and other additional courses that could be enrolled in which appeared interesting. A large emphasis is put on upskilling and self-development. A personal highlight was a session with a presentations coach early on which helped set us up for the presentations we had to give later in the internship.

Future employment prospects within bp are very appealing. It was very exciting to learn even more about where the company is going and how committed they are to their reimagine/ reinvent bp goals. It was very inspiring to see how committed the company is to ensuring a talent pipeline and I was very thankful the internship was moved online rather than canceled! From my experience, it's a great company to work at and I would be very keen to work here again.

Even though the internship was virtual, interns were very much encouraged to socialise and interact with one another. An interns social committee was put together who organised a speed networking event and quiz. There was a lunch & learn committee interns could be involved in, a committee to help organise the TechnoFest poster competition, and also a charity committee that was organised by interns. All these activities meant that even though the internship was virtual there was ample opportunity to meet other interns.

N/A Internship was virtual.

N/A Internship was virtual.

N/A Internship was virtual.