Intern Review

The work I was doing was really interesting, and in the field and area that I want to go into after I have completed my degree. In addition there was a really good intern/summer student culture and community.

Everyone there was friendly and helpful. It was also nice to be given some responsibility, and a degree of autonomy especially having only just finished the first year of university.

My supervisor was nearly always available to help with any questions I had, and when they were away they made sure I could contact someone.

Most of the time there was a good amount of work to get through, and I felt like over the whole placement the amount of work was good, due to the nature of the work however there were some periods of waiting, and some of lots of activity.

I didn't expect to be given much responsibility, with it being the first time I had done any extended paid work. I was very pleased with the project I was given though, and I was given enough responsibility to be able to take it in the exact direction that I wanted to, and implement my ideas.

I developed lots of skills which are useful in engineering throughout my degree and career, and also many skills non-engineering related like understanding business models, time management and teamwork.

The atmosphere was quite focussed which was good for working in. Also the people in the office were happy to help with any work.

In general it was very good, although I could have been given a more definite task list at the beginning. Because of this I felt I was not making much progress until I was given one. Also I didn't know where I was going with the internship until about a third of the way through.

I have summer jobs there for the next two years after this and they are providing a scholarship through UKESF for university. Also the lunch and learn talks are a great opportunity to learn about the company and its products.

It seems like a really good company to work for. Another good thing is that all of the management started as engineers, rather than being business people who don't actually know about engineering.

There were loads of activities, most were organised by us rather than the company which was good because of the autonomy. Most of the interns are friendly and have broadly similar interests so it is a good opportunity to meet people.

Cambridge can be quite expensive, but personally because I am lucky enough to live nearby I can drive to work and I don't have to pay rent or buy food or anything.

Not living in Cambridge meant I had to drive whenever I wanted to go into Cambridge, and the trains stop before 11:30 so I couldn't go out often. The interns often had casual trips to the pub on Fridays after work though, which were good fun.

Most of the opportunities were organised by the interns (for interns). This was good because of the age similarities and interest similarities.