Sensory and Consumer Science Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement, it was a very rewarding job to be involved in and I'm very glad I got the opportunity to work at Nutricia.

From day one I felt very welcome and very at home

The support and guidance I received was great! Very informative and helped me reflect upon myself. Constructive criticism was given which was very helpful and all the support I needed was available throughout my placement.

The balance of work and research was very good. There were days which were busier than others, however, I never found myself in a position where I was bored and hated my work.

During my placement I was given a great deal of responsibility and took on many tasks which had a positive impact which allowed me to play a significant role in the department. My views on various projects were taken into account and valued very much.

My time at Nutricia has not only enabled me to develop my time management and organisational skills but also my interpersonal communication skills which will aid me in my final year of study and also during job application and future posts within all organisations.

An enthusiastic and very positive environment. With everybody being really friendly it facilitated a positive atmosphere throughout the days and weeks. Even with very hectic days, you would always see employees smiling which was very encouraging and motivating. I must also mention how support the atmosphere was on a daily basis, anyone can ask any body for help, all colleagues were very approachable.

Generally well organised however, in the first two months my job role was unclear due to unforeseeable circumstances within the department. Although, throughout my placement my tasks and activities within the company were feasible and very worthwhile. I learnt a lot with every single thing I was involved / participated in.

During my placement at Nutricia there were many occasions where I was given the opportunity to travel abroad, i.e. The Netherlands, to carry out various training programmes and attend company events which were very informative. I was also give the chance to attend conferences in London which are by invite only and were very useful in relation to my projects about Metabolic Disorders. I was also given mandatory training to enable myself to be familiar with the culture of the company and the factory. A huge part of my placement involved Sensory training, I have now been trained and have trained a whole new panel for the company in Sensory properties of products.

Nutricia is the Medical Division of Danone and is a great company to work for. The great thing about my placement and working at Nutricia has been that I have already had one year of experience within the company and undergone a substantial amount of training which would enable me to conduct many tasks and projects and tackle various situations. An employee is able to move around amongst the various divisions, namely, Baby, Water (Evian) and Dairy. I feel like I have set a good example and attained a good image within the company as to what is expected from a student on placement and have also exceeded expectations with the different activities I have been involved in. With this I am willing to apply for a job with Nutricia / Danone in the future which will hopefully have a positive outcome.

The social scene amongst colleagues was super. I was the only student on placement, but I never felt even for a minute that I was any less than other employees. I was invited to summer BBQ's hosted by individuals within the department, 'Come Dine With Me' dinner parties, annual Christmas and New Years parties as well as nights out with different departments.

Fortunately, I was living in the city centre and saved a lot of money as everything was walking distance. The transport system is very well established and commuting to work was very easy. Various deals for bus fares can be purchased with efforts to save pennies. On the bus it took me approximately 12 minutes to get to work which meant that work and town were not too far from eachother either. So essentially, even work was walking distance. The socialising scene in the area I was living was lovely as everybody is really friendly and meeting new people and making friends was easy. It is important in getting to know your neighbours, especially if you're living alone, this is beneficial in times of need. On the hole Liverpool is an affordable city to live in with great deals at nearby restaurants. Accommodation in the city centre is expensive however you do end up saving on travel costs compared to if you lived outside city centre.

The nightlife was fabulous! Liverpool nightlife is really an awesome place for students as Concert Square is known as 'Student Central' with some great bars, clubs and pubs. The most attractive thing about the nightlife is that there is a place for everyone to go, in relation to preferences in music, crowd and atmosphere.

The weekly Site Bulletin was a really good communication tool for the site. Every week employees are informed on any upcoming events / activities they can get involved outside of work. Some examples include, joining the Danone World Cup Football Team, - I joined the Womens team for Liverpool and then we entered the competition where we played against other colleagues from the different divisions within the UK. The winners end up playing in a International competition in Japan. Other events included, Grey Hound Racing, Food Festivals in the Park and Grand Nationals at Aintree Racecourse.