Platform Systems Division Summer Student Review

Everyone made an effort to set us work they thought would be interesting, and often it was. Sometimes there would be a period of several days when I would get quite bored, either due to not having enough work or it not being particularly enjoyable, but this was partly luck of the draw and was balanced out with occasions when the internship was enjoyable.

From the very start, nearly all the people with whom I interacted, regardless of who they were within the organisation, treated me (and from what I could tell, all the other interns), with a huge amount of respect and trust. They would frequently give positive and constructive feedback on the work I was doing, and at no point did I feel like I was being patronised or treated as anything less than an employee. Although there was always a slight feeling that I was not doing as important or useful work as them, it was never expressed by any of my colleagues.

My supervisors were always willing to make the time to give me support. Frequently, they would stop what they were doing to offer me help, which I really appreciated. Typically, we were left to our own devices which, in some respects gave us a large degree of autonomy. Although, I would have perhaps liked slightly more guidance, given no prior experience working in that sort of area.

There were a large number of days when I had very little to do. This was, in part, due to reasons out of my supervisors control but it left me feeling quite bored. It would have been good if there were more projects prepared specifically for interns for which I could have been given a few days/ weeks worth of work to fill the time. It occasionally felt as though nobody in the office was able to think of any work for me. However, there were also occasions when colleagues made a real effort to think of or find a task for me to do, which I did appreciate.

In terms of being responsible for ourselves, we were given a large amount. We were almost entirely in control of when we worked (due to Flexi - time) and which project we chose to work on at any given time. Obviously there were limitations on how much responsibility we could be given in some aspects, due to the nature of the work, but even still we were treated just like everyone else with the information we were allowed to see.

I was given many different opportunities to pick up totally new skills during the placement. Sometimes I felt the work I was set wasn't entirely relevant to my degree, and hence the skills were not really transferable but they were sufficiently relevant for me to think they may come in useful in future. Colleagues would often spend some time teaching me a new skill, and they always seemed very happy to do so. On one occasion in particular, the work I was set was both useful for the organisation but also intentionally oriented by my supervisor to culminate in a CV skill that will almost definitely be of use in the future, which shows that my colleagues were making an effort to build our portfolio of skills.

People would typically get on with their work for most of the day. Occasionally people would have conversations. I wouldn't describe the atmosphere as exciting, but that isn't what I expected. It was definitely very laid back and occasionally it could be fun. Everyone was friendly and would greet each other.

In terms of induction, arrival, training, getting equipment and leaving, the organisation was very good. My main criticism would be that, for some people, depending on the circumstances, there didn't seem to be any work prepared for when they arrived. This meant there wouldn't be anything to do for the first week or two and occasionally no work prepared during the placement.

Aside from the initial training, we didn't really receive any formal training. Any new skills were almost always entirely self taught, although occasionally members of the team would help. Typically, though, people relied on you using stuff you already knew as opposed to training you with new skills to apply to the work.

The organisation offers some options for graduates to go back and work there. The graduate placement seems appealing if you enjoy the work done there.

There was an organisation set up for new starters/ young people that organised social events, however I'd say most of the socialising took place within the team (comprising around 10 people). There were a few events/ meals organised but not a huge amount of stuff. However, it was a good amount of socialising whilst at work.

I don't really know because I didn't do much socialising outside of the office.

I don't know, but from what I heard, not great.

There were a few. As I have already said, there was an organisation that made an effort to set up activities outside of work however these were never particularly well publicised and I never went to any. Within the team we organised a few external activities but not a major amount.