Sensory Intern Review

During my role I interacted with many different teams to oversee the completion of projects, mainly involved in the harm reduction space and new categories. No one was the same and along my 12 months there has been many so many unique experiences and challenges that I have overcome.

My ability to co-ordinate and run field work in science R&D has improved greatly. Throughout my time at BAT not only have I had opportunity to run my own project, but I've also had the chance to sit in on and assist in the data collection process of other projects and learn from experts in the field. This of course means all my skills from interacting with participants to labelling samples has improved.

The responsibility I was given at times was one of the best things about the placement at BAT. When you are here, you are treated like colleague and not a student. There were many times during my placement where my manger would trust I have a situation under control without the need to micro manage and this freedom really allow me to be creative and confident when completing my project.

Whilst I was given freedom to explore my own ideas first, help was never far away. Support from my project at BAT was never-ending and I had members of several different teams taking time out of their day to help with many different aspects including field work. Personal development support was also great at BAT as there many opportunities to talk to senior staff and understand where you wan to go in your career.

The culture at BAT is a lot better than I was anticipating for such a large company and one that operates in the tobacco industry. There is a somewhat "relaxed" feel to BAT and everyone is very welcoming. It was a nice surprise and is defiantly a major factor in the success of my year

The placement itself is full of surprises and challenging, however, I believe enjoyment and job satisfaction can only be found in tackling and being successful in spite of these challenges. To that end I would say that BAT was a very enjoyable place to work and never dull

Yes

The internship at BAT is great way to get involved with R&D and business. The size of BAT means that it is perfect for people who aren't quite sure where they want to end up in their career and are just looking to dip their toes into to several areas of industry. Once you are at BAT my advice would be to have patience and learn as much as you can.