Placement student Review

I really enjoyed the diversity of the work I was assigned to and the experiences it led me into. Everyone was very welcoming and helpful, and I would love to work there after graduating.

My colleagues were very supportive and appreciated the work I was completed. I presented fortnightly for both my projects, and received good feedback for my work.

The support I was given by my manager was excellent. At the beginning, I obviously did not know the projects, or the work very well, so whilst I was settling in he helped greatly. Then when I became more confident and capable he gave me the opportunity to take on more responsibility. It resulted in me training the new placement student to take on my role and continue to produce good results for the project.

My work kept me busy, there was never a time when there was nothing to do. However, it was not overwhelming. It was manageable with good time planning.

I gradually was given more responsibility throughout my placement. I took ownership of certain parts of the projects, and trained others when it was appropriate. I completely trained the new placement student to take over my responsibilities in one of my projects. This was very enjoyable, and gave me a chance to develop my leadership skills.

My placement year has taught me so many very useful skills. My presenting style has much improved with so much practise, and I've learnt more about the business side rather than just the science. These will both help me with my degree and for my work in the future.

My colleagues were very friendly. They were a pleasure to work with, so I looked forward to going to work.

The placement was well organised. Each student was assigned a 'buddy', which we could get in contact with before we started to ask questions, and they were there for any queries or problems we had while we were there. Training was well supplied and appropriate for the work I was completing.

The company provided a series of lectures with information that would be useful for all new starters to the company. This was very useful for the background training and information. Additionally, online personal development training was available. This was good as you could work through it whenever the time was available.

I would love the opportunity to work at AkzoNobel again. The atmosphere was great, and I really enjoyed the work.

The group of placement students was very friendly. We were put in contact before starting so some of us decided to live together. I lived with two other girls on placement. Most lunches were spent with the other students and we organised other social events.

Cost of living was good, and there were plenty of places to meet up and socialise after work or on weekends.

Nightlife was slightly limited, but a few places were good.

There was opportunities if you wanted to look for them. I was part of the gym and went to yoga/pilates after work.