IB COO Review

A thoroughly enjoyable internship. UBS were clearly very prepared for their yearly intake of summer interns and everything was very well planned and communicated, particularly the first week of talks and training. Once I joined my desk it was immediately clear how friendly everyone at UBS is and learning about the investment banking industry is fascinating.

Everyone is very welcoming and happy to assign you to work and projects if you ask for it. Therefore, you can end up completing tasks for team members and be able to add value and contribute to the team's goals. People are busy at the bank so are very welcoming of interns coming in to help on projects.

My line manager was very approachable and reinforced the fact that I could go to chat to him about anything during the internship. Everyone is there to support you during the 9 weeks and people often give you guidance and advice if you sit and talk with them. It is very easy to ask people for help.

The first couple of weeks on the desk were not too busy in terms of assigned work but this is good as there is numerous mandatory training modules and it gives you time to become accustomed with the IT systems and applications. Towards the end I was very busy working on various projects and meeting people in different areas of the bank to try to learn as much as possible.

You are given lots of responsibility. The work that you do contributes to the work that your team is doing at the time, so it is not as if you are carrying out projects for the sake of it, the outcomes add value. People are always available to assist you in your work as well.

The projects I worked on relied heavily on being able to process large volumes of data in Excel, therefore my Excel skills and speed of use improved dramatically. UBS has its own "University" on the intranet where you can sign up to a variety of courses to help learn about certain topics within the bank or to improve your soft skills.

The atmosphere in the office is great. I was sat on a trading floor which is an incredibly interesting place to be as there is always something going on. The floor was spacious, light and well laid out. There is a relaxed feel to the office even though everyone is very committed to their work and works hard.

Prior to starting everything was well communicated through emails, briefing calls and a mobile app to guide you through the first week. The first week of training was very well structured. There is a good balance struck between working at your desk and going to meet with people within the bank.

It was clear from the first week that UBS invests in all its interns. There are several training talks, sessions and online modules that you carry out to develop your skills and knowledge. UBS wants to train its interns and retain them for graduate roles and onwards as they invest time and money into your personal development.

UBS promote themselves very well during the internship and it is clear the positive cultural changes they have implemented in the bank. This makes it a very appealing organisation to work for, combined with their global reputation. The internship is effectively a 9-week interview for a role on the graduate scheme.

There was a good social scene amongst fellow interns. You get the chance to meet lots of people during the first week and UBS put on 3 social events in evenings during the internship for all the interns. UBS take on a lot of interns each summer so there are lots of people to hang out with.

I was in the Broadgate office which is very central and surrounded by bars and places to eat. It's a great location to be placed for the summer. The cost of living is expensive as you would expect in London. Places to eat can be very reasonable but drinks are obviously expensive.

There is an endless list of bars and places to go in the evenings all around the office. Broadgate circle (where the office is situated) is always busy with people going for drinks after work. Being very central within London makes any variety of evening entertainment just a short journey away.

UBS has a real focus on corporate social responsibility. There are several initiatives and volunteering opportunities to get involved with both internally and externally. UBS sponsor a local school, The Bridge Academy, where UBS staff can volunteer their time to help student's development. My only negative is that these activities could have been conveyed better at the start of the internship so that interns could have more time to investigate these initiatives and get involved.