Summer Student - Platform System Division Review

There was a good amount of work available so I was never bored. It was satisfying knowing that the work I was doing would be used by others. It was challenging work that meant it stayed interesting and it gave me a good insight into what working for DSTL would be like if I stayed on for the graduate scheme.

Everyone was very friendly when I first joined and knew that it would take me a few weeks to get up to speed with everything. They also treated me as someone who was capable at more complicated tasks and so the work I received wasn't your typical summer internship work (e.g. wasn't just filing or making the coffee).

For each project that I undertook, there was at least one senior member of staff who was there if I had any questions. They were very friendly and very generous with their time. I also had a internship supervisor who I had regular meetings with to assess my progress and what I wanted to get out of the internship.

There was always a lot of work to do but sometimes it would be the same task for the whole day without any meetings to break up the day. I found this quite tiresome especially if it was something mentally challenging like coding since concentrating continuously for that period of time was exhausting.

All of the projects I were given left it up to me as to how I went about doing them. They also said what they wanted to be the outcome of the project which meant that I had a responsibility to see that was achieved. This also gave me motivation since I knew there was a expectation from the project.

During my placement I learnt a lot of programming. This built on previous knowledge that I had obtained during my degree but the internship was a great opportunity to practice the coding that I've learnt and apply it. It also threw up a lot of areas that I didn't know about (e.g. making a GUI) and so enabled me to learn about that.

Everyone chatted with each other and it was a very friendly atmosphere. A regular occurrence would be getting a coffee or breakfast together which meant, as a team, you got to know each other better. It was a hard working office, though, and people genuinely cared about the work they did.

The internship was very well organised. The interview was clearly organised and explained. They also gave me a lot of support with completing the security clearance required which let me receive it before the start of the placement. They also paired me up with a 'buddy' so I had someone to ask questions to during the first few weeks (he was on the graduate scheme).

I received a lot of training at my time at DSTL enabling me to carry out more interesting work. They also put on talks weekly that anyone can go to. These are one of the best things about DSTL since you can hear about the work of another department in a great detail and how it uses the work of other departments.

Whilst as an internship they were very good and one of the most useful internships out there, I don't feel the work is particularly for me. There is a chance to opt-in to a graduate scheme at the end of the placement for anyone who is interested in continuing, however.

Very quickly I got to know some of the graduate scheme students and some of my fellow summer students. This made the job more fun and enabled me to hear about what some of the other departments were up to. There is also a student society that puts on regular social events.

I lived at home and commuted in to save money but from what some of the graduates that I work with have said, living here is not too expensive. A pint will typically set up back about £3.50 - £4 and eating out isn't too expensive. There is a good choice of cheap food and nights out.

There is a large amount of Nightlife nearby. Whilst it is more expensive than other places, it's good fun. Portsmouth is the nearest place but Southampton is relatively nearby and also offers a good night out. There aren't any trains during the night, however, so it is normally a taxi back.

There were a few opportunities to get involved in other activities, mainly by word of mouth or through the companies internal message board. There were also activities arranged by the student society (e.g. go-karting or going to a waterpark) that were sometimes subsidised by the company making them a really cheap day out.