Spring Technology Insight Intern Review

It was a very enjoyable experience, it would have been nice if it were longer, but considering the circumstances I was very glad that the programme ran at all. The talks were excellent; the content was interesting and well-structured, and the speakers were engaging and knowledgable. I very much enjoyed meeting new people, getting a sense of the culture and having the opportunity to ask questions.

I felt that we were valued and our experience at Morgan Stanley was important to the people running the insight. This was due to the fact that the programme ran virtually rather than being cancelled, despite the circumstances, and because we received many interesting talks from professionals who seemed to enjoy talking to us about their work.

We received all the support and guidance that we needed, both leading up to and during the insight. The emails sent out before the program were very clear and informative, accessing and using the technology was intuitive and the schedule was circulated well in advance of the programme so there was no confusion.

The technical information we received was not that relevant to my degree, but it was very interesting for me and informative for my future career choices. The information we received on coding interviews was extremely useful, and I expect it will greatly assist me in securing jobs in the future. The networking skills developed during the insight were also very useful.

The programme was very well structured and there was a great deal of effort made to give people appropriate breaks at the right times. The order of the sessions was well thought out, and the transition between these sessions was, for the most part, seamless. It would have been better to have more time to go into more depth in the sessions, but this is understandable, given the circumstances.

The general atmosphere was professional and yet fun. The fact that everyone was in their own homes created a somewhat more casual atmosphere than I would expect from an office environment, but this is not a bad thing in my opinion; it actually made for quite a comfortable and stress-free experience. The organisers and sponsors were very accommodating and people giving talks were very receptive of questions.

It was useful for understanding the culture and the type of people who work at the company, but it was not that helpful in understanding what a full-time role would be like. There was nothing Morgan Stanley could really have done about this is it was mainly due to the fact that the programme was completely virtual and shorter than normal.

I gained a good insight into Morgan Stanley's company culture, despite the fact that the programme had to be run completely virtually. This turned out to be a little less formal than I expected which was a nice surprise, though part of this may be due to the fact that everyone was connecting in from their homes.

This was not a paid programme, and there were not really any expenses to reimburse since the insight was run remotely. I marked that I was reimbursed as before the programme was made virtual, Morgan Stanley had a scheme for reimbursing travel expenses for the duration of the programme, as well as providing accommodation. The programme is more of a learning opportunity than work experience so I felt that this was totally fair.

There were three sessions from people who had gone through this programme and were now working at Morgan Stanley, and we were able to ask them questions. We also received the contact details of other people who took the insight programme. It was really great that this took place despite the insight being online.

Considering that the programme had to be run online and that there was a lockdown in place, the networking and social events were very good. We received an informative talk on good ways to network and the importance of doing so. There were three sessions from people who had gone through this programme and were now working at Morgan Stanley, and we were able to ask them questions. We also received the contact details of other people who took the insight programme.