Undergraduate Internship - Plant Biotechnology Review

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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