Summer Intern - Defence Review

Overall the internship was good fun. The Atkins Defence staff were a fantastic group

I felt highly valued. We were treated very well, and often colleagues would go out of their way to chat to us or help us. The office culture is excellent.

Comprehensive support and guidance was available whenever I needed it, and more often than not a quick question would lead into a more open ended and useful discussion. We weren't ever made to feel like we were wasting our manager's time.

We were kept fairly busy, but never felt under much external pressure. The work was well balanced.

Given the nature of the business it's difficult to be given responsibility from the start. You must first become used to the language and acronyms, and gain an awareness of the industry. It takes between 5 and 8 weeks to get to the level where you can begin to make useful contributions to the business. Had I stayed longer or done a year placement then there would have been plenty of opportunity to take on more responsibility.

Most of the lingering benefits of having working there are hard to quantify. It gave me insight into many areas I'd never had exposure to before, such as the systems engineering approach, project management, risk and many more. I feel much better prepared to direct and work on future projects having worked with Atkins Defence.

The atmosphere was relaxed and fun; filled with interesting people.

Fairly well organised.