R&D intern - New Categories Applied Science Review

Applied science is crutial for scientific understanding so, depending on what is currently required by the business, i may spend a day planning a study to increase the depth of understanding or i may spend the day analysing data and bridging the gap between prior knowledge and new information. These both come in the form of projects which have to be delivered to the highest calibre, and often provide great insight into important areas we are researching. In addition to this, i have a lot of contact with other departments, assisting with data generation and doing some lab work. I also had interactions with people across the globe, whether being external companies or other branches of BAT itself, i had a great opportunity to network across the world. This could come in the form of coordinating a team, working with an external company to aquire some niche data or direct collaboration with individuals.

Over the course of the year i have not only learnt all about the scientific community - being fully involved in research, but ive also had the opportunity to develop both my fundamental soft skills (presenting, group work/collaboration, scientific posters, critical thinking and plenty more). In addition to this, being in a research based environment has helped me grow my crucial skills as a scientist, growing the understanding i have of real word applications of my university knowledge. I've learnt how to apply my learnt skills into an industrial setting, whilst learning new industrial specific skills such as: efficiency, cost effectiveness, and working a pathway to a deadline. During the placement, there were plenty of work based training sessions but also mental and wellbeing based training. For example, in february i begun going through mindfulness training with another group of colleagues, learning to cope with the pressures of the world and becoming more at peacewith ones self - something that couldnt have come at a better time.

The amount of responsibility i was given over the last 12 months was much more than i had anticipated - in a good way. At BAT, they trust everyone to make the right decisions and manage all of the necessary aspects of their work to put their best foot forward, and this can be shown since during my time at BAT, although i was a placement student, i delivered work that was crucial for the business growth in general. Although i was given a lot of responsibility, there was never a moment i felt overwhelmed by it and i think it truly allowed me to get an amazing understanding of what working in a fast paced scientific field will be like after uni - which is priceless for someone in my position. Never once did i feel bored or like my work didnt make an impact, every day there were new challenges and new victories, with not one of my projects being similar to the last. No matter how small a project may have seemed, every project was important; i know this as 7 months after having delivered a key small project, it helped push one of our larger projects into a better space and decrease the amount of time needed to integrate with the larger company.

during the first month of the placement, myself alongside the other students in different departments were given a plethora of training to bring us up to a point of moderate understanding of the business in general. Following this, over the next 11 months there were individual sessions for more specific learning which were available for us. Aside from training, i had the the full support of the entire placement team every day - whether it be asking a question, raising a concern or even mental health - every single member of the placement team were supportive and understanding of the position i was in. Alongside them, colleagues and my line manager were very easy to speak to, and were always happy to sit down and talk over things i dont understand or lend a helping hand in general. When i joined BAT, i immediately got introduced to my buddy who had been at BAT for 5 years and knew his way around the business. during my first few weeks, i really relied on his guidance and knowledge, asking plenty of questions and for a lot of help, and through all of the year he has been there for me. Along with my buddy, the placement team assigned me a mentor who they deemed fit the criteria of what i wanted to get out of the year (which they had asked prior) and they were a perfect fit! Over the year, ive picked their brain about a number of things, and they provided me key insight into my future with their superior knowledge of the scientific field in general. Overall, you can go to anyone in BAT and they will spend as much time with you as needed, the environment is very nourishing.

Starting off, i must say that my placement year was one of the most different to any other placement years anyone had taken before this, since were currently in a pandemic. This meant that most in-person social activities were postponed following government guidelines. However, this didnt stop BAT! Even whilst working from home, there were plenty of company wide events - quarterly business reviews where everyone would come together (online) for a day and discuss where we were in the pipeline; But not only business related events, My function put on a virtual christmas celebration with an external company doing a Zoom event, a quiz, a general natter and really driving the christmas cheer. Along with this, my team had our own virtual get together for christmas, with christmas games, funny videos, memories throughout the year and a well organised secret santa. Whilst we are now opening back up, BAT are trying to get the sport groups back together - i currently know that the BAT cricket team meets at least once a week for training & games, and play against other teams. There are plenty of other clubs, most of which reside in the gym (which as been closed due to government guidelines) and hopefully these start up soon. In terms of diversity, this is really close to my heart. Being a homosexual man myself, i have always felt included and this was especially through the B United initiative, which encouraged everyone to be their most authentic selves in a place with no judgement and no difference no matter who you are. i've never once been treated any differently to anyone else, and always equally. Plenty of people in BAT take part in charity initiatives, and these are often sponsored by the company. recently, someone i know did a super marathon and BAT matched the total amount of money raised for his charity, which is something that not every huge worldwide company would do for just one person. When im not working, i have the luxury of living with a group of the other students on placement years within BAT, since we got introduced to eachother during the process of preparing to start the placement (april/may before the placement started in september). With them, we do activities in the area, plan fun day trips and now the pubs are back open - regular student things! I have met a number of colleagues outside of work whether for a little catchup over coffee/lunch or for a fun little walk. a lot of my own personal time i like to play video games (especiall competative esport style games) and ive met a few people with similar interests at BAT through a group Discord which was initiated within the year i worked here, and allows for people to talk about their hobbies etc in an informal environment.

Personally, i absolutely loved my placement, i really couldnt have had a better year. Firstly, my team; everyone i worked with was amazing, they were all very unique and brought their own way of thinking to the table - but no only that but they were absolutely amazing people in general, kind, caring and incredibly smart! Being around them made me strive for the best and not settle for a low standard, they gave me a picture of where i wanted to see myself in the future, being able to make an impact the same way they have, and have really opened my eyes to what my future career will truly be like. Next, the work that ive done over the course of the year has not only been mentally stimulating, but different than anything that i was expecting! coming from a completely lecture and lab based subject like chemistry into a diverse environment with hundreds of people with different backgrounds really helped me progress my learning and develop more understanding of the pathways which i can go down with my future. every day there was something different, and more interesting than the day before, and i was constantly being offered new opportunities for development and broadening my mind. The company culture in general is something i cannot put into words how much i truly love it. No word of a lie, every single individual who works at BAT is kind, caring, courteous, supportive and of a whole other calibre above any professionals ive met in my life to date. anyone i asked gave me plenty of support whenever i needed it, helped me even if they were busy. the fact that even the head of science David O'Reilly took many hours out of his incredibly busy schedule to spend with students who worked about 9 grades below him really shows the incredible culture of growth here at BAT. In terms of expectations, considering that i got my offer and would be joining during the covid pandemic, i had minimided my expectations because surely working in a research and development environement would be much more difficult; However, almost as soon as i arrived i realised how wrong i was. whilst holding the guidelines as upmost priority, BAT were keen on making sure i had just as good of a placement as every singly other student that had passed through their doors, and that they did. my placement was incredible, leagues above my expectations and i couldnt recommend the opportunity to anyone more than i already do. I absolutely would go back given the opportunity, this company is absolutely incredible, and if my career path leads me back to here then im certain they will welcome me back with open arms - just as they do to anyone, new or old, who joins BAT.

Yes

Since my interview was held during the pandemic, im sure it would have been a little different, however i first had a phone interview where it was mostly competency based questions to determine if i was the right fit for BAT as a whole. Then i got a callback for the final video interview (which before would have been in person) where i had a one on two with my future line manager and another member of my team. the questions were thought provoking, following a key STAR pattern mostly, but i encorporated knowlege of the business which i had spent a number of hours over the preceding week researching on top of the research i had done before applying for the role. I think the best advice i can give for the interview stage is to prepare yourself, tobacco and new nicotine avenues are clearly important to BAT, and showing interest and understanding sets you apart from others - but it will also help once you arrive, since you will already have a baseline understanding of what they do. the only thing you really need to do to prepare for day one is open your mind; you're going to learn things you never expected to learn, and meet a lot of new people. it may be intense but stick to it because its going to be amazing, and youre going to have the best year! the thing which inspired me to join was the companies outlook towards the future. this is quite vague so ill explain, when i started researching about BAT before applying - i heard that they were beginning to fund their own development of a covid vaccine, and i was shocked because my initial view was "its a tobacco company, they make cigarettes" but as i stumbled upon this, i continued deeper into their scientific report and all i can say is wow. i got incredibly inspired by the sheer force they put into developing less risky products along with trying to combat the health impact they have, alongside overall sustainability, its absolutely incredible. i knew right from then that i want to be working with a company who are really reaching into the future where every scientific research and development based company, should be, and BAT would be a great fit for me.