Team Member Review

DSTL is a fantastic place to work with very interesting and challenging work. The placement allowed me to enhance my knowledge of the challenges the military face in theatre.

The teams I worked with were always happy to help and often invited me to social events outside of the workplace. This only meant better working relationship and improved productivity at DSTL.

My team leader was always willing to support me with any problems I was having and was very thorough when checking through my university reports, however, I felt as though he took a lot of time to find other work for me to get involved in when current tasks came to an end.

I became busier as the placement progressed. At the beginning of the placement I seemed to be doing odd jobs here and there rather than being directly involved in a project. This proved to be frustrating at times as I sometimes had nothing to do. However, as mentioned in the previous answer, my team leader sometimes took some time to find me other things to do and I found that by being proactive and talking to colleagues in other teams and divisions I managed to find my own work and keep myself busy.

The amount of responsibility I was given also increased as the placement progressed. Once you prove yourself doing smaller tasks you are given more tasks and thus more responsibility but a manageable amount nevertheless.

I was lucky enough to be involved with modelling work, experimental work and a lot of trials so I have developed a lot of essential skills that will help me with the rest of my studies. I have a lot of MATLAB experience, experimental optics skills and improved time management as a result of this placement.

DSTL have a 'smart-working' open plan office where the atmosphere varies depending on where you sit. If you sit at the 'hot desks', expect a lot of social interaction, sit at a standard desk and the atmosphere depends on who you're sat with and finally if you need to get work done, there are quiet zones where you can stay fully concentrated on your task. The office always has a very relaxed atmosphere that works very well. The labs are better still. I have never had a day in the lab where I haven't laughed at something.

The organisation of the placement was by biggest critique as no real placement 'programme' is in place. When I arrived I had no work waiting for me and no real goals or objectives set in place. I was fortunate as I found a team that regularly takes on small-scale projects that I could be fully involved in.

Apart from the mandatory health and safety training, I only attended two formal training courses. However I received a lot of informal on-the-job training.

I am currently looking to gain sponsorship from DSTL for my final 2 years of university. I am very much hoping I can return to the organisation once I finish my studies.

A Facebook page was set up for new starters before joining so that we could get to know each other and find housing together. I made good friends with new starters and even lived with 4 other placement students.

Rent is fairly expensive in Salisbury, I'd recommend a house share if you want to keep bills low. Socialising costs are standard, around £3-£4 for a pint of beer.

Lots of great pubs in Salisbury! Very poor nightclubs though.

STEPS is a scheme run at DSTL for new starters by new starters. They organise social events both inside and outside the workplace (cinema trips, bowling, go-karting .etc). As well as attending STEPS events, I played 5-a-side football on Tuesday evenings and rounders at Wednesday lunchtimes. To summarise, DSTL has a fantastic social scene.