R&D Product Design Student Review

My placement was in R&D for Beverages Design team. I really enjoyed the year and was able to learn so much through meeting the team, training days and site visits throughout the year. As part of the placement you have an overnight stay where you meet all the other summer and industrial placement students which is a great way to start.

My team have really come together throughout the year which has been great to be involved with. A lot of people joined around the time I started so it took a while to feel like a tight knit team but we were able to get to know each other and bond as a new team. I felt really valued in the team and no matter the position it was really easy to speak to anyone.

I had a one to one meeting with my line manager every week where we would speak about what projects I was doing, what my workload was like and whether I needed support. My manager made it clear I could ring/message her whenever I needed and she would help with whatever I needed.

Due to having different projects no day was the same. This meant some days would be super busy - either in and out of meetings and presentations or in the lab all day trying to meet a deadline. Some days would be quieter but I never had nothing to do - there would always be more training or someone who needs a hand. The balance wasn't perfect as some days felt super busy where as others were quiet but I really enjoyed this and meant I was never bored.

At first I was just supporting projects which was a great way to learn how to do things and who to speak to etc. It wasn't long before I had responsibilities of my own and more responsibility to deliver. I would say the level was right - I always had enough to feel challenged but never so much I felt out of my depth.

I believe the skills I developed will definitely help me in the future when it comes to working in a business. It should also help in the final year of my degree due to all the training I received both online and in the lab, most of which directly corresponded with my degree.

The office itself could be quiet a lot of the time due to people being in meetings and in the lab. However we had a communal room where you could have chats and lunch with people. We also had catch-ups where people would bring food and different drinks for the team to try. Everyone was super friendly and easy to talk to.

Communication was kept up from the discovery centre to the start date. The locations and line manager information took awhile to come out but based on your function you can take an estimated guess and know everyone is in the same boat. It was great having the meet up the week before we started to meet other IPs/SPs and learn more about the business.

I was able to go on lots of training courses throughout the placement. Whether it was learning more about specific topics, visiting sites or general training such as Food Safety qualifications - there was lots of opportunities. There is also loads of training and development modules online that you have access to the entire placement.

The industrial placement offers the chance to get fast tracked to the discovery centre of the UFLP graduate scheme. However this is not set in stone and depends on your performance. Due to meeting so many people within the organisation there is always the opportunity to get a direct hire should this appeal to you and the company.

Due to being on a site with only Summer Placement students there wasn't a great social scene. There were apprentices and some students that lived in town but as I was in a different building and living at home I did't know them that well. This did't bother me much as I was at home but it just depends on the current year and which site you are at.

I am not entirely sure about the cost of living in the area because I was living at home and driving onto site but I think Bedfordshire is quite expensive - there is always the opportunity to house share with other students and people on site which can bring the price down. The few time I went into Bedford town the prices didn't seem to bad for drinks.

I'm sure about Bedford but I don't think it's great. I lived in Northamptonshire and there are a few clubs about but again its limited. If there's a group of you, you can always have house parties. Also because you get the weekends you can visit friends still in Uni so your're not limited to staying in one place. Again this depends which site you are at.

Most the activities I heard about from my site were to do in work. We would sometimes have curry nights and drinks in town with colleagues but other than this there wasn't much. I heard some events taking place for the London offices such as charity walks etc which you can get involved with.