Often you do not know what to expect when joining a new company, especially a young one. Coming from a background in Finance and Economics, the biotech industry was foreign to me. 

The first hours in Autolomous felt daunting as meeting my new colleagues over Google Meet was quite difficult and awkward. However, after my introductory meeting with the entire company, I received comforting messages from several of my new colleagues. These actions I believe best mirror the culture at Autolomous. A group of specialist, smart working individuals that work collectively to achieve the same objectives. 

In my first few weeks, I was offered lots of help and advice which made my transition period smooth and effortless. New processes and procedures were explained thoroughly and I was quickly given work to do. This contrasts with other internship and work experiences, as other companies were reluctant to trust interns/students so fast, restricting them to meaningless administrative tasks. Autolomous is great at building trust with the intern, by developing a strong interpersonal rapport with everyone in the company. 

At Autolomous it is easy to stay busy.  At first, I gave preferences of what areas of the business I wanted to engage in, and my requests were catered to. I can confidently say I have experienced, to an extent, almost all areas of the business. From the Business Analysts to Developers, the array of tasks I do changes weekly. Up to this point, my favourite project that I have been a part of was helping the team develop the new website. Writing the initial drafts of content, helping to choose diagrams and testing the performance of the website were all highlights.

3 months into my internship, I have learnt several new skills. I have developed new social competencies, adapted to working from home, learnt to create spreadsheets and use apps like Confluence and Slack to name a few. The fast paced nature of internships at Autolomous may be intimidating at first, but obtaining mentors throughout my journey here significantly reduced the pressure. These ‘parental figures’ aid the process of starting new projects and challenges you may face during the transition between education and the professional workplace. 

Overall, I can say with confidence that Autolomous is an intern friendly environment. It’s a place anyone can thrive in due to flexible work contributions and an ethnically diverse team that is willing to help you grow professionally. If you are dedicated and open to trying new areas of work, Autolomous is definitely the right place for you, regardless of your professional background.