Intern Review

Overall, the placement was enjoyable. I enjoyed the international atmosphere at work, good work/life balance, high responsibility, and the things learned.

I felt valued by my colleagues based on the level of responsibility I had had an opportunity to take on. The decisions regarding my projects were taken on the partnership level, followed by, oftentimes, long discussions. Many of the current employees went through the internship route and it is, certainly, highly appreciated and respected.

I was given a good level of support and guidance, although it was on a slightly more informal basis. I have been able to learn from their expertise in the field, although sometimes, because of travel schedules or busy calendars it was difficult to access some of the colleagues.

I have been assigned several independent, long-term projects with certain deliverables. The projects have kept me busy throughout the time, but I was responsible for managing my own time and ensuring the balance between being busy and delivering on time. Overall, the amount of work was appropriate.

Very high level of responsibility, unlike any internships and placement I have had an opportunity to take before. This shows the trust of the management in the students coming to the company and puts us on the equal level with full-time employees. I led several projects, under supervision, from inception to the end.

I had an opportunity to pick up certain engineering skills, but above all, the placement helped me to develop the soft skills, from the confidence in interactions with more senior people, to presenting and public speaking, to managing projects. Transferable and very helpful, whatever I decide to do in the future!

The atmosphere was laid back and friendly, in the highly focused spirit. Given the high content of travel, calls, and the international work, people tend to spend most of their time in calls and meetings, leaving little time for work interactions outside of lunch breaks.

The internship was fairly well organised. Students are assigned a mentor and a manager within their team, as well as champions leading the internship programme. The interactions and weekly meetings were a strong part of the programme, but training could be improved.

Training and development was organised within the team, without a centralised, organised training programme. This is a potential area for improvement for the internship organisers, given that the company hosts students from a variety of backgrounds.

The placement is the main pipeline feeding the full-time graduate roles and serves as an extended interview. The company prefers to promote from within as opposed to accepting external hires, and promotes internal mobility, both functional and geographical. The employment prospects, therefore, are highly promising.

The social scene was slightly lacking, given the high content of travel and international work. The atmosphere was very focused, but students do meet for a weekly coffee/lunch. Apparently this tends to improve during the summer, as there are more students around.

The office is conveniently located at the outskirts of the city, with good links to the city center. This gives fairly low living costs, should anyone want to live in the area, or a quick commute to the center. The city is not among the cheapest, but the intern salary perfectly covers all expenses and offers fairly high quality of living.

As the office was located in the outskirts of the city, the nightlife was practically non-existent. Everyone enjoyed the restaurants, clubs, and pubs in the quite vibrant and very international city center.

There were several social groups and sport outings employees were encouraged to join.