RDD Intern - Research Review

Internship was very much enjoyable, particularly in comparison to previous engineering internships at larger companies. Good team atmosphere as well as a large number of interns meant that it was easy to settle in and get to know people. Events such as the summer party etc were also a lot of fun and there are often small perks throughout the week.

As the project was very useful to the team I was working in, the work seemed valuable and as such the necessary resources were provided in terms of advice and equipment to get the job done. Was also a part of team socials etc. Due to confidentially requirements, however, there were a lot of restrictions on my participation in team meetings which didn't help.

Weekly meetings with a technical supervisor/manager for progress updates and feedback on work done that week. Mid and end term reviews were also conducted to evaluate overall goals and if I was getting what I wanted out of the internship. Guidance and support in general were excellent, with a good balance between being given the freedom to solve a problem independently as well as providing useful advice and help along the way.

Was generally as busy as I would like throughout the internship. Due to the nature of my project, I was making the decisions of what tasks needing doing on given days so it was ultimately up to myself to ensure I set myself work to do on any given day. Was never really necessary to work outside of normal working hours and there is very little pressure to do so unless you are behind on a crucial deadline.

Was given a lot of responsibility within my project in terms of what approach to use when solving various problems as well as setting my own objectives on a daily basis. Was rarely a time that my work strongly affected the work of those around me. Due to my work being used by the team upon the end of my internship, I was also entrusted with independently ensuring that my work was robust and of a high quality.

As a result of being within a research team, my training was limited in terms of CAD, Workshop training etc. There was a lot of exposure in the first few weeks however to the various aspects of the business, with inductions regarding key aspects of how the company works and the processes involved with product design, which was very interesting and gave a good insight into the running of the company. Was also given the opportunity to improve my personal expertise in research topics, Matlab and LabView.

Due to being a very large office with all of RDD, it was a very unique atmosphere. It was good in the sense that everyone was nearby regardless of team (provided you could find them), meaning it was simple to talk to various people. There was also cake on a very regular basis which helped. The office in general is quite loud because of the large number of people, however, but it isn't too distracting.

After the assesment day, an open day was set up to meet the other interns, my line manager and my technical supervisor, which was a great way to ease you into the company and give you an idea of who and what you'll be working with. As such, I was aware of my project around a month before I started, giving me the opportunity to research as necessary beforehand. I personally had a variety of IT issues once starting due to a lack of communication, but others had no such problems.

I had a very limited amount of personal training, with most of my learning occuring on the job as I got on with the project. If I were in a different team and around for a longer period of time, there is a great deal of training on offer from software to workshop to customer services etc which all get very good feedback from what I heard.

Got offered a job towards the end of my internship, which offers a variety of bursaries and starting bonuses to help you get started when you start working for them. Is definitely an attractive prospect to go back to work for Dyson, whilst the location is likely to be a barrier for many as to ensure a short commute to need to live in Malmesbury/Chippenham which aren't the most exciting/easily accessible places to live.

Had lunch every day with fellow interns and went to the pub, go karting etc on a fairly regular basis. Provided you live in the same area, it's quite easy to socialise with fellow interns.

Fairly expensive rent given the area, but not unreasonable. Most interns in Malmesbury rented out spare rooms in people's houses, paying around £350-£450 a month. Pubs and restuarants weren't too expensive, fairly standard.

Non existant. Just some pubs and restuarants in Malmesbury.

A lot of clubs and societies which you can get involved in once you know the right people to contact. There are noticeboards dotted around the office with details of how to get involved in things, and people played football etc on a weekly basis in Malmesbury/Bristol etc.