Blog posts from our CyberFirst interns

Our interns have been busy blogging about their experiences of working at HMGCC as part of the CyberFirst programme. Here two of them share some of their insights about carrying out an eight-week internship at HMGCC.

Greg - My time at HMGCC so far:

Having been at university for just a year, I wasn't sure what to expect coming onto an eight-week placement at an organisation I'd never heard of before but, two weeks in, I can't imagine a better way to have spent my summer. It will be difficult going back to university, and stepping out of this amazing community that I have found myself in.

The internship is split into two sections - software engineering and security research, with four weeks being allocated to each. At the time of writing, we are currently into week two of software development, and the opportunity for learning has been immense. This first part of the placement involves working in small groups of two to four people, and developing a piece of software, to assist in ongoing projects on site. I chose to throw myself into an area in which I had little to no experience - developing an app for a phone, and so this led to a rapid learning curve. This was all created by a positive learning environment promoting self-research, and helpful staff. There is lots of opportunity to experiment with different approaches, and the experience of being able to work a project which will be later be used as a proof of concept or by other members of the department is highly rewarding.

The second half of the internship is more focused on the security research side of work done at HMGCC, taking a deep dive into newer areas of technology, to gain a greater understanding of how they work technically, and how we can keep ourselves and others safe from security threats.

Most days we have a talk from different department heads in the organisation and it's inspiring to see the cooperation between so many different areas around the site. The level of invention and creativity is unlike anything I've seen before, and it's incredible to be at the forefront of technological innovation and see some of the national security engineering that is helping to keep our country safe.

One of the things I really enjoy about working here is the staff that have been working with and supporting us. The similarity in age makes it really easy to connect with them and their expertise is always welcome. Most of the staff we work with have come from the CyberFirst Scheme, so they have been in the same position that we are now in and are always happy to give advice and provide a welcome perspective of where we could be in a few years.

Edward - A day in my life as an intern at HMGCC

Hi! I'm Edward, a CyberFirst intern at HMGCC. Here's how a typical day on the internship goes:
9.30am - Arrive at work. We have flexible hours so we can arrive later than this, as long as we arrive earlier or leave later on that or another day to make up for it.
9.30am - 11.00am - Training. We get training to prepare us before each project. For the software project we learn good coding practices and practice coding. For the security research project we get taught C and Ghidra, to learn how to deconstruct and analyse compiled programs.
11am - 12pm - Talk from the head of Software Development. Every few days we have a talk from  a person or team from a different part of the site. We learn about what they do and the interesting technologies and systems they use.
12pm - 1pm - Lunch! There are two different places to eat on site, with several affordable and tasty options each day. I can always find something that works with my dietary restrictions. We quite often have lunch with other people from the site, everyone's really welcoming.
1pm - 2pm - Project work. Some people are working on an AI project and others on an android app. My team is writing software for a microcontroller. In the other half of the internship, we'll all be working on security research projects.
2pm - 2.15pm - Coffee with my security research ’buddy'. At the start of the internship, we're assigned a buddy for each project. We chat about the progress of my current project and about what they do at work. It's a nice way to get some deeper insight into the organisation.
2.15pm - 5pm - Project work. Getting on with some work on the project. One of the software developers helps us work with a particularly annoying python library. We make good progress.
5pm - End of the day. We all head home with a plan to meet up in the evening for a social.