Extreme Blue Technical Intern Review

by IBM

Best Student Employer

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

4.1/5
  • The Role
    4.8
  • The Company
    3.8
  • The Culture
    3.6

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

    • Chance to work on real world projects with other interns, as well as living with them and meeting great people.

    5/5
  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

    • The other interns were incredibly friendly and we often socialised outside of working hours. The mentors for the project were very helpful and helped us prepare for after Extreme Blue. All employees in IBM were willing to help if they were a specialist in the area.

    5/5
  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

    • The mentors to Extreme Blue helped us with everything, even before arriving they were keen to talk to us and explain what would happen. The mentors of the individual projects enjoyed working with students and got as involved as possible.

    5/5
  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

    • IBM Hursley was a very relaxed working environment. Everyone dressed very casually and you could take time to go have coffee if you needed. It was great for software development.

    5/5
  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

    • We were given a lot of freedom with the direction of the project and the management was handled by a business student within each team. The whole internship was very well structured to take care of us.

    5/5
  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

    • I learnt a lot of new programming techniques as well as learning how to use certain development tools. Some interns new these already. My presentation skills were also seriously improved due to the weekly update presentations done in the labs and the big expo done at the end of the internship.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

    • We had a great time, we didn't constantly have managers over our shoulders so we could chat and go for coffee when we had time. We all understood the work that needed to done though so everyone understand they had to work hard to get what they wanted achieved.

    4/5
  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

    • The projects and groups were arranged for us on arrival, accommodation was arranged for us and mentors were assigned.

    5/5
  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

    • They let you get on with work most the time, so that you could spend the time learning what you thought you needed. We were given a few feedback sessions to explain to us the good and bad points of our assessment centres and interviews which was useful and the mentors were always available to talk to about personal development and training if we wanted.

    4/5
  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?

    • Sports and Social Club
    2/5
  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

    • There are some great places to work in IBM and doing the Extreme Blue internship has opened me up to as many opportunities within the company as I could hope as a grad.

    4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

    • We all lived in the halls of residence nearby so we could socialise after work. They were all great and we went for casual nights at the pub a lot as well as playing football and tennis in the university grounds.

    5/5
  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

    • Winchester could be expensive but not if you were sensible. And accommodation was provided for free.

    4/5
  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

    • Winchester wasn't that lively, however we made the effort a few times to go out in Southampton which was very fun.

    2/5
  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

    • We went swimming at nearby pools and played sports using the universities facilities. IBM Hursley also has a club house where you can join various sports clubs.

    4/5
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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

Computer Systems Engineering, Computer Science

South East

October 2013

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