西瓜视频

Undergraduate Internship - Plant Biotechnology Review

by BAT

Best Student Employer

Rating

4.8/5
  • Skills
    4.8
  • Responsibilities
    4.0
  • Support & Guidance
    5.0
  • Culture
    4.8
  • Your Impressions
    5.0

    Overview

  • 1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
  • On a day-to-day basis I spend most of my time in the lab conducting experiments independently to assess plant responses to drought. When I'm not in the lab I'll either be conducting data analysis or attending meetings such as weekly team meetings, monthly department connects, project reviews or placement team meetings. While at BAT, there are many opportunities to present so I'm often preparing for a presentation of some kind either to my team, the placement team/interns or to the wider business


    Skills

  • 2. Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
  • This placement has definitely helped to improve my confidence in the lab and improve skills such as aseptic techniques, plant in vitro culture and molecular biology techniques. One of the most important skills that I have developed while at BAT is presentation. At the start of the year the placement team ran a presentation workshop to provide us with some tips and tricks for presentations and since then I have had many opportunities to work on these such as monthly intern meetings, team meetings and poster presentations. I have also developed my networking skills through networking sessions with senior leaders. I also had the opportunity to attend a conference. Another skill I have developed is critical thinking through journal club sessions.


  • How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
  • 5/5

  • How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
  • 4/5

  • How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
  • 5/5

  • Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
  • 5/5

    Responsibilities

  • 3. Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
  • During my placement I was responsible for planning my experiments, e.g. when I was going to do them, what I would need, and then conducting the experiment independently once I had received the appropriate training. Other responsibilities I was given during my placement included leading team meetings, attending a conference as the sole BAT representative, leading a journal club and organising a networking event with senior leaders


  • Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
  • 4/5

    Support & Guidance

  • 4. How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
  • I received a lot of support from my line manager who was always around to answer any questions and provide training for any lab techniques I needed to do. The team was also very supportive and helped me whenever I had any questions. They were also very helpful when I was practicing for any presentations as they provided feedback to help my improve. I was also assigned a buddy within the team, a mentor from another department and a placement team buddy who I could go to for help. The rest of the placement team were also all very supportive and provided guidance for any placement related activities.


  • How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
  • 5/5

  • How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
  • 5/5

    Culture

  • 5. What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
  • The company culture was brilliant. The general atmosphere was very friendly with everyone being happy to have a chat, especially with the interns. The company also has a strong focus on running social activities such as the football team, meditation and singing. As well as providing discounts for events such as theatre tickets, outdoor cinema, go karting and even donutting! Another event they run is a kind of 'sports' day where the different sites in the UK compete against each other.


  • How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
  • 5/5

  • How would you rate the social opportunities?
  • 5/5

  • How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
  • 5/5

  • How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
  • 4/5

    Your Impressions

  • 6. To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
  • I thoroughly enjoyed my placement here at BAT. Initially it seemed a bit slow to get started as completing all the trainings to be in the lab took a while but once my project had really got started the year went by so quickly. I enjoyed work I was doing in the lab and enjoyed the responsibility of having my own project. I enjoyed working for the Biotech team as they were all very friendly. I also liked that there were a lot of other interns (19 others) as this meant that there was always someone to talk to about any issues you were facing and there was always someone to have lunch with!


  • Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
  • 5/5

  • Please rate how your experience met your expectations
  • 5/5

  • Please rate the future employment prospects at BAT
  • 5/5

  • 7. Would you recommend BAT to a friend?
  • Yes


  • 8. What advice would you give to others applying to BAT
  • Before the interview do your research about what BAT does, what it's products are, it's goals and its values. This will go a long way in showing that you want to work for the company. Be open to new opportunities - say yes to any experience you can, as even if it isn't directly what you're interested in, it will help with your career progression. Most people are very happy to chat about their work so make sure to talk to as many people as possible.


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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

Research, Science

South East

June 2025


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