Undergraduate R&D Engineer Review
at Cytiva
Placement (10 Months+)
Engineering
Portsmouth
Review Submitted: June 2023
Overall Rating
4.5 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
5/5
-
Overview of Role
4.5/5
-
Skills Development
5/5
-
Support and Guidance
4.8/5
-
Company Culture
4/5
-
Overall Experience
3/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
My main responsibility is contributing to a product development project for a gas filter testing apparatus. This encapsulates a wide range of tasks, including testing the software, testing filters for validation studies, analyzing and presenting the data to managers.
A usual day is:
- Daily morning meeting with the team
- Project related meetings for planning/updates
- Lab work (running tests and experiments) and/or data analysis
A usual day is:
- Daily morning meeting with the team
- Project related meetings for planning/updates
- Lab work (running tests and experiments) and/or data analysis
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
I was given a great deal of responsibility and autonomy during the placement, being the primary person in charge of running tests on a multi-minion dollar product development project as well as the sole person in charge of testing and reporting on a smaller validation task (under minimal supervision from the manager)
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
5/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
The placement provided plenty of opportunities to learn and develop skills such as project management, presentation, communication, report writing, good lab practices, statistical data analysis, and various equipment use. This was done though day to day activities, bespoke professional training and undergraduate program-specific activities
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?
5/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
4/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
4/5
Support and Guidance
How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
I was given a ample support in the early stages of the placement, until I familiarized myself with the team, projects, and industry.
Beyond the early stages, support was available upon request and when facing new aspects of the projects/industry. Questions answered promptly and clearly.
Managers ensured there would always be a senior member of the team working on site on any given day to provide guidance and support in person, if needed.
Beyond the early stages, support was available upon request and when facing new aspects of the projects/industry. Questions answered promptly and clearly.
Managers ensured there would always be a senior member of the team working on site on any given day to provide guidance and support in person, if needed.
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
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The atmosphere around the office is a relaxed one, everyone is friendly and happy to help when needed. There are occasional team building activities (all are optional), people bring cakes on their birthday (also optional), and people enjoy chatting about things outside of work.
The professionalism you would expect from a large company is present when work-related topics are involved, but discussions are often left quite casual and relaxed.
The professionalism you would expect from a large company is present when work-related topics are involved, but discussions are often left quite casual and relaxed.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
4/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
5/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
5/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
I enjoyed my placement a great deal. I have had the opportunity to develop my skills, meet interesting people, expand my professional network, all while doing engaging tasks and working on very interesting projects
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
5/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
3/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at Cytiva
3/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Cytiva to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to Cytiva
You don't need to have a relevant degree/experience in order to apply. It is far more important for you to have the critical thinking and attitude the team wants from you and you'll learn everything else as you go. Don't let the relatively niche aspect of the work disway you.
