Mechanical Design Student Review

I have really enjoyed my placement so far, the work is always interesting and challenging and the company atmosphere is pleasant.

From day one my colleagues have valued the work I did and the opinions I had in meetings.

My supervisors managed to achieve a nice balance of being able to provide support where I needed it but giving me autonomy to manage my own time. At the 6 month review my supervisor asked me to identify what I wanted to get out of the placement and what particular areas of work I wanted to work on (I like research and technical investigation so asked to spend more time working with the technical specialists) and were able to put in place targets that

When I started the placement I was never bored or short of work but it was quieter which gave me a chance to learn the CAD software and get to learn the company procedures and ways of working. I was worried before I turned up that a lot would be expected of me initially but it was not the case, everyone was very friendly and helpful and I soon learned who was best to go and discuss issues with. A high standard of work was expected from me but I believe I was able to meet expectations. I was keen to get as much exposure as I could working on projects and always seemed to have 3-4 projects on the go, 1/2 main projects and a couple of smaller side projects if the main work went quiet which meant I had to manage my time to complete them.

I was given full responsibility of the mechanical work of a project which was had projected sales of millions of pounds and lots of other smaller projects. I felt like I was given the same responsibility as a fully-fledged mechanical engineer.

The placement was very relevant to my degree and consolidated or applied a lot of what I

It is a open-plan, airy office. Staff are very friendly. The job has lots of perks- flexi-time, subsidised canteen, table tennis in the canteen, department meals, sports and social events and dress-down Fridays.

Apollo have been taking students for many years (especially the mechanical) so know what to expect from a placement student. My only criticism would be I didn't have my company induction until I had been at the company for a couple of months which made some parts of it irrelevant.

I was trained on CAD software (SolidWorks) and extras (FEA/ light simulation) and rendering software (Keyshot). I learnt a lot about commercial awareness and what options for progression there were. I was able to suggest any training I thought I needed.

Very appealing, it is a great company to work for.

There is a good social scene amongst colleagues. I sat next to a fellow mechanical placement student so we were able to bounce ideas off each other and help each other.

Nothing different to university. I was at Portsmouth Uni so could have stayed in Portsmouth and commuted but I chose to live in Havant to reduce travelling. There is a gym and plenty of shops in Havant close to Apollo office.