Industrial Placement Student Review

Excellent opportunities to get involved in a wide variety of research and work with great people.

I was given a good level of responsibility and always received acknowledgment and feedback for the work I contributed.

Guidance and support was always available from management and colleagues were always willing to offer advice when required. I was typically given a fair amount of autonomy, which suited me, but colleagues were always happy to answer questions.

The workload tended to fluctuate depending on the number of suitable projects available, at points I was very busy whilst at others it felt like there wasn't much for me to do - however I soon found that someone always had something you could help out with.

I was given a good degree of responsibility in most of the projects I worked on and my supervisor was happy for me to be involved in a wide variety of work to experience as much of the organisation as possible.

I was able to develop a number of important skills that will benefit me in further education and future employment.

At times the office was fairly quiet as people tend to work at other sites or travel around for meetings, however as the office was open plan there was always people to chat to. When working in teams as part of research projects there was typically a good atmosphere.

As Dstl is well accustomed to hosting industrial placement students everything was typically well organised. The only issue was the fairly long delay in being given a confirmed start date due to the lengthy vetting process.

Dstl allocate a training budget for every member of staff which can be used to fund training courses, seminars and membership to accredited societies.

The Dstl graduate scheme is an attractive option, despite not offering the greatest salary, the work is interesting and there are opportunities for further training and education along with benefits such as flexi time.

I was living at home with my parents during the placement so cannot personally comment. However there were other staff and students that regularly socialised.

I cannot comment as I was living at home. However I know that housing is provided for Year in Industry students at a low rate and other Industrial Placement students typically rented rooms in Salisbury.

I experienced the Salisbury night life following the staff Christmas party - it is not the most lively place but there are a couple of night clubs and plenty of pubs and bars.

There are a number of Dstl and MoD sports and activities clubs available along with a gym (including squash court) and playing field on site.