Summer Student Review
by Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
3.5
-
The Company
2.6
-
The Culture
2.4
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I got involved in some really interesting work and had the option to alter what I was doing if I wanted. However, I was not busy all the time, particularly during the first couple of weeks, which meant at times it could be less interesting.
Everyone I worked with or made contact with was really friendly and very helpful.
I was well supported by my manager, who was available almost every day to help, and my project supervisors were usually on hand to support me if I needed it.
During the first couple of weeks or so, work was slow, but after that I usually had enough to do to fill my day.
I was involved in some work for which I was solely responsible for and which I believe was of direct use to DSTL.
A lot of the skills I gained during my internship I had already developed during university (problem solving, critical analysis, report writing etc.), but applying them to a real situation was valuable. Also, having experience of using, say, pieces of equipment and generally being in the working environment I think was useful.
The Company
The work environment was an open plan office with lots of other people. But, I usually sat with members of my team and became fairly familiar with other employees (and summer students).
I was given two projects to work on within my first week, but I knew other summer students who were idle for longer.
I don't recall doing any training outside of the normal things (fire awareness etc.), but this wasn't so applicable to my placement as I was able to get on with my projects without it. However, I feel if I needed training for something, I probably would have been able to get it.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Working from home
Reasonable appealing, it rather depends whether I want to work in that sector or not.
The Culture
I certainly got to know other summer students well, but it was difficult to have any social events outside of work time as we all lived quite far from each other. I became familiar with other staff, especially during touch rugby, which I played at Friday lunchtimes.
I commuted from home.
I didn't go out during my placement as I was commuting from home.
Not a huge number, but it depends which team you are in. Again, this wasn't so applicable to me as I wasn't living in the area.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Science
South West
October 2014
