Undergraduate R&D Engineer Review

A very rewarding year spent there: I was given a broad range of projects & tasks which were tailored to improve my technical and practical abilities. The varying nature of the work meant it was often enjoyable and not repetitive. Work colleagues were very friendly and always ready to offer assistance.

I was made moderately valuable (as valued as an intern can be) and treated as a graduate, which meant I took on projects and tasks that were supportive of research, development and manufacturing within the company. My manager personally took steps to increase my competencies by tailoring the work I did to meet the requirements of my degree, an act for which i'm very grateful.

Adequate training was always provided to increase my competencies then I was left to work mainly unsupervised (with the exception of weekly progress reviews). I was taught how to use all the machinery and devices that I needed for my projects and extensive risk assessment was carried out before I was allowed to perform any task that had a potential risk to health or the environment.

The workload fluctuated on weekly basis depending on the availability of resources and projects/tasks, but overall I was kept fairly busy on a daily basis. In order to occupy my free time I was allowed to work with another team to assist them technically and practically. This particularly enriched my placement as I was able to get a feel of more than one department. It also helped me to narrow down my work preference, giving me a clearer view of the career path i'd like to go down.

I was made very responsible within my team as I was in charge of producing all technical drawings. I also managed several mini-projects. However, there seems to be a lack of explicit leadership opportunities for me as an intern.

My internship has drastically improved my ability to research, communicate clearly, present, write technical reports and problem solve. I have gained many transferable skills like project management and personal organisation that will definitely change the way I approach the remainder of my degree and also contribute to my career in the future.

My Work colleagues were all very friendly and sociable. Individuals always worked hard to complete their work on time but there was always time for a little chat or Monday morning sports catch up. As the intern, I was often on the receiving end of light-heart jokes and comments (nothing that offends).

Very good preparation were made before the start of the internship to make sure I had the right equipment. My manager also made sure my interests matched the work I was doing and was very keen for to know the entire business and not only the department I worked in. The projects were also well structured and assisted, I did however have periods of uncertainty not knowing what i'd be doing or when i'll be starting another project once i'd finished what was working on.

The company goes the extra mile to make sure you can produce work of high quality. This involves numerous training (ie CAD) both on technical and practical basis. I was also given books to help me solves problems and work in a way that fits the company's vision & mission. On a managerial scale, my manager had me shadow him in meetings to see how he stirred projects and gave presentations.

There are many graduate opportunities within the company with new departments and roles being created. The company carries out an assessment review of your performance at the end of every year that allows room for fast growth if your performance is impressive. There is also a very good working culture of flexible hours within most departments.

Whilst the individual departments do have a very good social scene like going for meals or organising various activities outside the work place, there seem to be no intern community within the company. It is left to you to discover who the other interns are and arrange any social plans you have with them.

The housing prices are relatively inexpensive and most of the social venues are relatively nearby due to the city being quite small. It's easy to make friends outside of work as it is a university city, a trip to the student union (where food is cheap) should earn you a few friends if you're lonely.

I don't have an opinion to give on this subject. It's not my scene (I prefer my soft bed).

Yes, there are many opportunities for social activities. whilst I was there the social activities ranged from go-karting championship between departments, to cricket, paddle boarding, rowing, football and more. There's no shortage of out-of-work activities to do and if there's something you particularly like to be done just ask around, there are bound to be people of like interest.