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I really enjoyed the Scholar Discovery Day. Having already met many of the other scholars, it was great to see some familiar faces. The activities were well tailored to our level of experience and generally the event had a very relaxed, welcoming and friendly atmosphere. I would highly recommend any events held by BP, since this discovery day, like many of the other BP events I have attended, was insightful and extremely helpful, especially in the run-up to placement applications.

I felt extremely valued at this Scholar Discovery Day. The event had obviously been well organised and tailored to our needs - the content built on previous scholar events so there was very little repetition. There weren't as many scholars there as I had anticipated which meant there was a better chance to have in-depth conversations with current employees,and was a great way to get to know the other scholars better.

Even in the preparation before the actual event, we received lots of information about the event. The well organised nature of the event was clear since we were equipped with travel information and maps beforehand. On the day of the event a free shuttle bus escorted us to the offices and we were met with some lovely BP employees and graduates who guided us through the day without a hitch.

The Scholar Discovery Day was extremely useful - more so than I thought it would be. Since all of the scholars had already completed a competency interview, a lot of information was provided about the next two stages of the placement/graduate application process: the technical interview and the assessment centre. These were invaluable experiences that made the application process seem a lot less daunting. We were able to chat with technical interviewers in our specialist areas and also participate in an assessment centre-style activity - both of which were experiences I felt very grateful to have received.

The discovery day was extremely well structured. The activities scheduled throughout the day felt well thought-through and nothing felt too rushed or too laid back. Regular breaks were given and broke up the different sessions well and the variety of activities (including listening to current employees on the graduate scheme, an interactive game, tours of the BP site) meant that there was never a dull moment. I was impressed to see how much we achieved throughout the day and this was mainly due to the preparation that had obviously taken place beforehand.

The atmosphere was relaxed, friendly and very welcoming. It helped to have a small group of scholars attending - there was no more than 20 of us there which is always a lot less daunting than a sea of people. The interactive game at the beginning broke the ice (without the need for awkward ice breakers!) and the atmosphere continued to be upbeat and stimulating for the rest of the day.

The day involved a number of talks from a range of BP employees who are currently on the graduate scheme. This included more mathematical roles from employees working at Canary Wharf as well as a process control engineer and a geologist. It was great to gain a deeper understanding of what current employees do on a daily basis and also allowed us an insight into how the graduate scheme works at BP.

The discovery day really reinforced my intention to apply for placements for next year and helped me to gain an insight into what a career in the oil and gas industry. However, the one thing that the day lacked was more detailed information on where my degree in chemical engineering could take me. I would have liked to have seen more on reservoir engineering, process control engineering, wells engineering etc so that I could see what speciality appeals to me.

I was reimbursed travel expenses for my train journey to and from the event. There was also a free shuttle bus provided to take employees from the station at Feltham to the offices. The reimbursement process is always easy and is completed in a (relatively) short amount of time.

At lunch time we had the opportunity to talk to current employees at BP from a range of areas working on a number of different projects. It was really interesting to hear about their roles entail day-to-day as well as finding out about their unique career paths. It was also a fantastic way to ask questions such as 'How did you decide which area to go into?' and 'How much of your degree do you utilise in your work?'.

I would highly recommend the Scholar Discovery Day to a friend. The activities were really well organised and were tailored really well to the scholars. The Q&A session with the technical interviewers as well as the assessment centre activity were extremely useful and I felt really lucky to have had those experiences. It was also a great way to see what a career at BP could look like and hearing personal experiences from current employees is invaluable.