Chemical Process Engineering Intern Review

The number one differentiator in BP's internship in my opinion is the aspect of being given 'real work.' I have completed other internships in the same sector however BP provided me with real deliverables which had implications should the tasks not be completed. This motivated me to both complete my work and get involved in the numerous external opportunities available such as; social, STEM and charity events which occurred throughout my internship. The combination of impacting on the business coupled with the family attitude of BP gave me an overall excellent experience.

BP's values include 'One Team' and throughout my internship I found that this was more than a value and that my work colleagues from my line manager up to the engineering manager were interested in my progression and deliverables across the full 11 weeks. Praise was given where appropriate for completing deliverables and upon their completion further and more challenging work was entrusted to me giving me a sense of heightened values to the team with each deliverable completed.

I felt that this is very case dependent and therefore somebody else who is more introverted than myself may have had a different experience. I was given as much support and guidance as I asked for. However, I was never crowded by my line manager which I appreciated being an independent person, I was allowed to complete my deliverables with weekly update meeting with my line manager to discuss an overview of progress. When I had any questions they were answered by a simple conversation with my line manager at their desk.

As with any placement there are times when there are lots of work and deliverables happening as well as periods of calm. As an overview I believe that I always had a task to be doing whether that was my major project across the 11 weeks or my sub-tasks of which there were many and I was able to perform my own time management provided the tasks were completed by the requirements I had been set by my line manager.

I was given a major project throughout my time at BP and for this deliverable I was in all entirety responsible for its research, report and presentation of findings to senior members of staff. Although I was provided with guidance by my line manager the role required me to engage with a multi-disciplinary team in order to complete the deliverable. Being responsible for bringing together the views of different disciplines was both challenging, interesting and held a high level of responsibility therefore overall I feel I was given a high level of responsibility in terms of my deliverables.

I believe that this placement has broadened my awareness of the business impact which some of the skills gained at university have offered me. Allowing me to actively engage in tasks which involved complex thinking and problem solving have enhanced my awareness of safety, process flow and P&ID's as well as given me the opportunity to emphasise this knowledge by passing it on to other members of the team and leading review meetings. My enhanced knowledge of specific process systems and their design shall put me in good stead for continuing into my final year of university.

I worked in a client office (KBR) as they were the engineering contractor for the project I was working on. However, I worked within the small engineering team in that office of approximately 20 members which gave the feel of quite a close community. My experience was made greater by the interaction with the engineering contractor and there were frequent cakes, treats and sweets distributed between BP and KBR team members. My experience will not have been the same as those working in the main Sunbury or Aberdeen offices however would strongly recommend a placement for BP in a contractor office as it allowed me to get on well with a smaller team and experience the real life interactions of client (BP) and contractor (KBR).

Very well! It was the best organised internship which I have experienced and indeed in comparison to that of the experience of my peers at university. For such a large company the tasks which were provided were all given at appropriate timings in order to ensure the speed of work was kept up and never left me bored at my desk. The various integration meetings with the recruitment team for both mid-internship advice sessions to the appraisals performed by my line manager were transparent in that there wasn't a hidden agenda and we were being assessed again what we had been informed on the very first day. Outside of work, the various social events were organised very well and offered the opportunity throughout the internship for people like myself working in a client office to engage with the wider intern community.

For such a large company it is clear that the investment in each intern is considered highly. I was offered the opportunity to undergo graduate skill workshops as well as widen my knowledge of the larger BP network through Lunch & Learn sessions. The salary provided to the interns should show any prospective student the level of investment they place into their interns of which there are many, not only in the U.K. but globally. This is furthered by the final assessment which is held in order to be considered for a graduate position a the end of the internship. This final assessment gives the feel of genuine purpose from BP not only to provide students with a variety of important and challenging deliverables but also to assess their potential for a full-time role at the company.

There is a final assessment which interns undergo with an independent assessor which dictates the offer of a graduate role. As I have only just completed my final assessment it would be impossible to say if I have achieved a graduate position currently. BP has numerous systematic methods for choosing their prospective graduates from the internship scheme which are not available for intern knowledge. However, personally I have enjoyed my internship and feel that if offered a graduate role I would accept on the basis that over the internship I not only found that BP suited my personality in terms of an employer but that I felt as though I suited them equally which in my opinion is a healthy means of employer selection.

There were many social events organised from the social committee including; charity ball, sports day, outgoing meal in Richmond as well as other smaller events organised by interns on a weekly basis. I feel that being down in London over my internship many interns were unwilling to pay for the various social event which were held leading to a lack of interests in some of the smaller events overall. However, the three events which I stated above were all organised far in advanced and offered ample opportunity to socialise with the wider intern community.

We were lucky in finding accommodation over a three month period as short leases are difficult to find in the outer London areas (leatherhead). In comparison to many areas in London area our accommodation price was fairly high at ~£160pppw or £645 pcm however this was outweighed by the standard of accommodation which we stayed in coupled by not paying for transport via the south west train services as some interns had to over the course of the summer. In terms of social life in leatherhead it is basically non-existent however if future interns were to be placed in this office I would highly recommend getting involved with the work football team, going to a leatherhead fc match and joining the leisure centre.

As previously mentioned the nightlife in leatherhead is basically non-existent however with London a train away it is very easy to get into London and explore all of the possible events to explore in the city.

There are various committees within BP and they all run different prospective projects which interns can become involved in. Those which I partook in included: The BP in the Community society - which engages with local schools in order to perform STEM competitions and sessions - The Social committee which organise events external to working including crazy golf, sports days and charity events but they are spaced adequately that there are still a number of weekends where you shall not be restricted from travelling to see friends or family.