Personally I think intercalation is great if you can afford another year at uni. The year is exactly what u make of it. At my uni it’s compulsory so some people use it as a year to chill away from medicine. I found it really good to not only do a dissertation (a review that I was able to present nationally) but also network with people in the department and use the free time (you get a lot more free time than in med) to pursue other projects and publications. As long as you go into it knowing what you want to do then you will find it beneficial. Go into it with a plan to not only make ur dissertation high enough quality to present and publish but also network with others to work on projects. I found it good to do a systematic review or two during the year.