EMEA Business Development Alliances Intern Review

The placement gave me a lot of responsibility and opportunities to make a real impact on the efficiency of my team. The work environment became very quiet halfway through though

The value of the work you produce is always made clear to you. The value behind your work really shines when a team of highly-experienced professionals depend on you to keep the place ticking for them

It is made clear from the beginning that it is better to ask than to assume. Colleagues are more than willing to help and ensure you have grasped what they have taught you. If however you need to ask a couple of times however, the assistance tends to get a bit less constructive.

After a while, you learn that your working routine can tend to be the same each week, which helps you find your feet, but after a while, you can find yourself with a bit too much spare time. This does however give you the opportunity to get experience with other teams or organise events etc

After the first 6 months, I was running the African region's app store and Spain's music merchandising, giving me a true sense of achievement when seeing the revenue streams. My manager would also make me the first point of call if he was on leave, although there are always details that can not be shared by your Manager.

The practical application of the skills I gained through my course such as Excel and Management theories certainly helped me maintain a holistic view on the operations that ran the business, helping me understand the attitudes of different authority figures as well as helping me communicate with different teams

With the staff cuts last year, the work force does not fill the office to capacity and you tend to feel a sense of uneasiness among full-time staff that may be at risk.

My Manager in advance of my Internship planned what experiences I should gain from my time at BlackBerry and most of them I reached like partner visits and directly impacting revenue intake, however I was so busy at points, I did not get to experience all of what my Manager intended

I did not approach the company for assistance in terms of my skill development, based on slow previous responses, because of the staffing cuts restricting bandwidth, however, colleagues from my own team or other teams were more than willing to help me if I needed help learn new skills. This was great for making new contacts

The company is turning itself around and your achievements are certainly recognised instantly. based on my performance and the current standing of the organisation, a job is a possibility but not a certainty until you re-approach after graduation

Technical students seemed to keep themselves to themselves. The non-technical students were more extrovert as we organised events and got everyone involved

Rent per month was cheap but upfront costs were high. Trains to work are average, better with a travel card.

Night life in Slough is non-existent, but London and Reading are 20 minutes away

The opportunities available to you are 20% from BlackBerry 80% from your own initiative. If you have a valid project idea, HR will support you in materialising a full on event and let you run the opportunity yourself