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It was a really enjoyable summer; I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the energy industry. I felt really welcomed by all my team and everyone on site. The company ethos and attitude towards its employees is also great, they definitely want you to have a good work-life balance. It’s great to prepare you for a graduate job.

On the whole, I felt valued and appreciated by all my colleagues. If there was ever any conflict this could be discussed and addressed straight away, to ensure BP work together as a team, and continually improve. I was lucky enough to help my colleagues with some workflows, so I felt particularly useful at these times.

I was very busy on a daily basis. I had my own project for which I made a timeline so I could stick to my deadlines. There were also lots of extracurricular intern events and insight sessions. These allow you to appreciate the breadth of the business. I was not overworked though, and my project was subject to adjustment depending on what I discovered.

I felt I was given a really good level of responsibility. My own project allowed for technical development and creativity. I presented my findings to the team at the end of the internship, and they will use this information in future to make decisions on what to look at and where to explore.

The skills I developed over the summer were numerous and invaluable. I learnt so much industry based technical knowledge; it will really help me in whichever part of the industry I choose to pursue. Also, the Lunch and Learn programme gave lots of information to really appreciate the breadth of the company. Teamwork skills were particularly productive, and meant collaborative meetings were really enjoyable.

The offices varied between buildings and floors. My floor always had a hum of computers whirring away as well as quiet discussions between colleagues occurring. My side of the floor also had homemade cakes every other week, and everyone would get together and enjoy the cake and have a chat. There was also a separate tea and coffee area where you could bump into people and introduce yourself informally. However, every other Friday the offices were quite quiet because of the flexi-Fridays scheme, which allows you to work an extra hour per day over a fortnight and then take every other Friday off!

I spent my first week with BP training on a new software that the company was introducing. I then used this over the entire summer to understand my data. This training was crucial. Also, we had presentation skills training which really prepared us for our end of internship activities and reviews. Opportunities such as TechnoFest, an internal poster competition, also helped develop wider communication skills.

BP has appeared to be an excellent employer. BP is understandable, flexible and conscientious. The benefits of working here have been numerous, and I would definitely like to have a graduate job with the company in the future. Within the organisation there are lots of opportunities to expand your position, there are training courses and leadership programmes available for everyone interested.

Living in London is expensive, but in your salary you get a location bonus to allow for the higher living costs. As well as the canteen being subsidised, we each received a lunch allowance every day. The cost of socialising is very variable, if you choose to go for cocktails in Mayfair, it will obviously be a lot more pricey than popping in to a Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ uni bar for a pint. Sunbury is based in Greater London, and as such there are lots of sporting activities close by. We went on a few intern meals that were really fun and brought everyone closer together. London is also great for gigs, there are so many venues with different bands/artists performing, a music fan wouldn't get bored.

Sunbury is close enough to go out in London. Obviously there is a huge variety of clubs, pubs, and bars in London, so there is something for everyone. Also, the night buses are great, and relatively frequent. There are also various global events occurring in London, which bring a wide amount of people to the capital, and often the opportunity to experience many different cultures.

There were lots of out of work activities. For example, one night the graduate team arranged for us all to go out for food and bowling. We also had a 'dine out' evening where everyone headed to a gastropub after work to socialise. There is also the company subsidised gym a 5 minute walk away where people could participate in run club, touch rugby, 5-a-side football just to name a few.