Hi, I am currently a undergraduate studying Computer Science in the UK. I am doing research for possible UG internships for next summer and one of the ones that I might apply for is working for SCEE (sony computer entertainment europe) R&D as they offer internships for undergraduates. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of the internship or knows more about it as the website doesn't seem to give much info.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section :P.

While I can't give you info on the specific SCEE internship - I have just completed my Internship Year at TNT (the package company lol). I would say - go for any placement you can get! Here are some of the things I think I've got out of it:
Self-Discipline - working 8:30 to 5 every day is REALLY a big difference to Uni life! Applying this to next year my expectations of myself have greatly increased!
Motivation - same as above
Employability - 70 grads apply for each grad job in the UK. Having a year at a major organisation is a great way to make you stand out
MONEY - Seriously! You will save up some major £££ on placement

There's loads more advantages but those are my main ones. You should check out the government internship scheme website:
http://www.e-skills.com/e-skills-UK-in-work/e-skills-internship/2580

If you sign up to the sceme once you have a placement you can get a industry recognized certification for doing your placement. All you have to do is fill in a monthly work log and do a short final report.

I'm currently an Industrial Placement Engineer at SCEE R&D. The first thing to note, since you mentioned Summer, is that I'm only aware of year-long internships being formally offered (there is a student who's worked here for a few Summers now, but I get the impression this is a special arrangement). There are three of us completing industrial placements that I'm aware of: myself, working in a test engineering role, and two others in web development roles.

As far as my job is concerned, it involves grey box testing APIs, tools, technical demos, sample code and a cross-platform engine for the PS3 and PSP platforms. The main languages are C and C++, but I've also done some C#, Lua and shell scripting in the 3 months that I've been here. At first I was sceptical about the position as my main technical interest is computer graphics, but there are plenty of interesting problems in the area of test automation, and the work is kept fresh by the variety of test strategies that can be employed and turnaround of projects.

Please feel free to ask specific questions if you're still interested. Also, as someone who has researched internships in some detail, I'd be happy to share any information with you such as other placements that you may not be aware of.

Quote: Original post by ink
I'm currently an Industrial Placement Engineer at SCEE R&D. The first thing to note, since you mentioned Summer, is that I'm only aware of year-long internships being formally offered (there is a student who's worked here for a few Summers now, but I get the impression this is a special arrangement). There are three of us completing industrial placements that I'm aware of: myself, working in a test engineering role, and two others in web development roles.

As far as my job is concerned, it involves grey box testing APIs, tools, technical demos, sample code and a cross-platform engine for the PS3 and PSP platforms. The main languages are C and C++, but I've also done some C#, Lua and shell scripting in the 3 months that I've been here. At first I was sceptical about the position as my main technical interest is computer graphics, but there are plenty of interesting problems in the area of test automation, and the work is kept fresh by the variety of test strategies that can be employed and turnaround of projects.

Please feel free to ask specific questions if you're still interested. Also, as someone who has researched internships in some detail, I'd be happy to share any information with you such as other placements that you may not be aware of.

Thanks for replying!

I only just noticed it as it was posted a bit after my initial message. I emailed the HR department at SCEE a few days ago about a possible 6 month industrial placement but they replied quickly back saying they only offer 1 year placements as you stated in your reply which is unfortunate as what you said in your reply seems very relevant to my interests.

I noticed in your reply you also said that there may be other placements I may not be aware of. I was wondering if you could possibly enlighten me about these?

Quote: Original post by jkh13
I noticed in your reply you also said that there may be other placements I may not be aware of. I was wondering if you could possibly enlighten me about these?

Here's a few to consider :-)

http://www.snsys.com/careers/ws191010_industrial_placement.asp
http://press.eutechnyx.com/recruitment/level-up-scheme
http://www.disney.co.uk/disneyinteractivestudios/blackrockstudio/jobs/grads-interns
http://www.brookstreet.co.uk/lionhead/intern
http://www.rareware.com/careers/internships100611
http://www.frontier.co.uk/jobs/apply/internships
http://www.blitzgamesstudios.com/careers/placement
http://www.cohortstudios.com/vacancy-2

Quote: Original post by ink
Here's a few to consider :-)

http://www.snsys.com/careers/ws191010_industrial_placement.asp
http://press.eutechnyx.com/recruitment/level-up-scheme
http://www.disney.co.uk/disneyinteractivestudios/blackrockstudio/jobs/grads-interns
http://www.brookstreet.co.uk/lionhead/intern
http://www.rareware.com/careers/internships100611
http://www.frontier.co.uk/jobs/apply/internships
http://www.blitzgamesstudios.com/careers/placement
http://www.cohortstudios.com/vacancy-2

Thanks for the reply ink, I emailed a few of them to see if they are willing to take students for 6 months, hopefully I get something back :).

Quote: Original post by jkh13
I emailed a few of them to see if they are willing to take students for 6 months, hopefully I get something back :).

Be patient. And hopefully you researched each one, and wrote a smart cover email tailored to each one.

Quote: Original post by Tom Sloper
Be patient. And hopefully you researched each one, and wrote a smart cover email tailored to each one.

I just emailed the HR to ask if they offer 6 months and I plan to send cover letters and CVs to them if they say they would consider it.

Do you think my CV is adequate?

CV

Also is my cover letter alright? I plan to change parts of it (like the last pararaph) for every company I apply but I have a feeling it is a little too long and I need to cut it down a bit:

Cover Letter

Quote: Thanks for the reply ink, I emailed a few of them to see if they are willing to take students for 6 months, hopefully I get something back :).

Lionhead offer 6 month internships running from April to September; the rest are likely to be inflexible, but worth a try nevertheless (the same applies to studios without an explicit placement scheme).

Quote: Do you think my CV is adequate?

Also is my cover letter alright?

Probably questions for another thread, but I'll get back to you this weekend when I can grapple some free time.

Quote: Original post by ink

Quote: Thanks for the reply ink, I emailed a few of them to see if they are willing to take students for 6 months, hopefully I get something back :).

Lionhead offer 6 month internships running from April to September; the rest are likely to be inflexible, but worth a try nevertheless (the same applies to studios without an explicit placement scheme).

Quote: Do you think my CV is adequate?

Also is my cover letter alright?

Probably questions for another thread, but I'll get back to you this weekend when I can grapple some free time.

Thanks alot ink! I know about Lionhead already, my uni has some links to them and they usually take a few of us a year, I have already applied and just waiting on the interview period in Jan.