Product Development Technologist - Placement Student Review

Role: to support the R&D team in various projects including innovations, product quality and waste, simplification and exports and deliveries. This tends to involve meetings with different functions of the business to align, communication with suppliers, hands on lab work - making samples and conducting tests on ice cream, PLM and spec work and being flexible for other work as needed. Day to day varies quite a lot with some weeks being busier and requiring more time than others. Flexible hybrid working with some travel (in and out of the UK) included.

Developed communicating with a variety of people, including a lot of new people (introductions) and suppliers. Learnt how to communicate effectively and adapt my style of speaking for who I'm talking to. Improved my organisation and prioritising of tasks effectively, for long term and short term tasks. Learnt different ways of working and what is expected in a business environment. Learnt a lot about the world of ice cream and typical processes for launching a new innovation, simplification methods, PLM and LIMS, technical acronyms and words and how to run small scale factory trials.

Responsibility started off fairly low and increased as my placement and understanding of the role went on. I was given a small ongoing task to own pretty close to the start, with the majority of my responsibilities being more focused on supporting others in their projects, Nearer the end of my placement I have now run my own trial, and will be following up with the physical testing tasks and eventually the tastings which will lead to the final decision. I am also creating the specs for a mini cup and bulk product independently.

I had a lot of support during my placement. I had weekly 121 with my line manager which were super helpful as it gave us a chance to review the projects I was in and to catch any concerns early on. It also was a nice chance to ask any questions that had been building up or get any support on specific tasks. My team were really friendly and approachable so it was easy to go to any of them for help during the placement and it felt easy to ask questions. I think the level of support was good as it didn't feel as if I was being micromanaged but I was never made to feel bad for not understanding or knowing things in any topics. I was also given support in calls and wasn't sent to undertake calls and meetings alone in the beginning.

The company is a lot bigger than the team I was in. I found generally people stuck to their teams but everyone is friendly. The hot desking experience was interesting as it meant you never quite knew where you would be sitting and who you would be near. I feel like I would have preferred a different way of working as if you didn't get a desk close to your team, you sometimes felt a bit isolated and it was harder to ask questions and chat to them. We always had team lunch and team days though which was lovely. I think Colworth was made up of some of the most polite people - everyone held doors open and offered to help if they saw anyone struggling. The atmosphere was always friendly and it felt like everyone was enjoying being there. Hybrid working was also lovely. Safety at Unilever was of top priority and it did really feel as though the company cared about wellbeing of each employee and went out of their way to help if anyone needed support.

I really enjoyed my placement. I don't think I'll find a better team anywhere else and the opportunities I was given were brilliant. I think I was challenged well, supported and was able to shape my experience based on my interests and what I wanted to work on. I really learned a lot and developed quite a few skills so I think my time here was invaluable. I also was able to help out and contribute to key projects, so I know I have made a difference in innovations and to the business as a whole (significant savings goals).

Yes

Be honest and passionate about what you are interested in and what to achieve and experience on placement. Your interview and CV may influence the area you end up in and it's better to show your true personality and interests to get the best out of it.