Summer Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship as not only did it enhance my knowledge and experience within industry, but I was also encouraged to get involved in the social aspects of the company. I learnt a lot about how a business is run and how working with clients, and was also introduced to engineering concepts fairly new to me. In addition, I was entrusted with organising social events which helped me get to know all the colleagues around the office.

As an intern, I had the presumption that I would be given the menial tasks and looked down upon by my fellow colleagues. However, I was treated as equal, which made me feel very valuable to the company. I was entrusted with producing documents to the clients, and asked for my opinion on engineering problems, which made me feel as a very important asset to the team.

Although my line manager was working at the client site most of the time, he still kept in regular contact to see how I was doing and if I was enjoying the work I was given. My technical lead always provided me with work and guided me if I was ever struggling with any problems. Additionally, I felt that I could ask anyone in the office for assistance and they would always make themselves available.

One of the issues in a consultancy is the fluctuations in work provided by the client. On days where I was working on a project, I found myself to be very busy. However, even on days where I was not working on a particular project, I was given work by other project managers which kept me busy. Closer to the deadlines, I found myself to be extremely busy, however, most of the time, I had a good amount of time to get involved in and organise extra-curricular activities for the company.

I was given a good amount of responsibility during my internship. In the first few weeks, I was entrusted with doing some research and presenting my findings to a client, without any pushback from my manager. I was also responsible for taking minutes at client meetings and proof- checking important deliverables.

I think that this internship helped provide a valuable insight into the industry and how real-world engineering differs from that we learn at university. It also helped me become more confident in my abilities, and improve my communication as I always had to liaise with fellow team members and clients. I also learned a lot about the business side of a company, which I hadn't experienced before at university.

The atmosphere was very lively in the office. The office was actively involved a lot of social events and extracurricular activities, which allowed me to have a good balance of work and social life. My colleagues were very interested in sporting events and kept up to date with the news, which allowed everyone to socialise actively with each other.

The internship was well organised - I was provided sufficient training in my first week and was given informative presentations on the industry and the work the company does by the different managers. I was then put onto a project and given the opportunity to contribute and solve a real engineering problem as part of a team.

The company provided me with a lot of training and gave me the opportunity to visit client sites and supplier sites when requested. I was also encouraged to look for training courses which would be relevant and enhance my personal development as an engineer.

The organisation is growing and has a strong relationship with its clients so there is always a good supply of work and therefore always the need for engineers. I was encouraged to come back onto the graduate scheme and was told of future opportunities for work.

There were several grad students and interns in the office who actively organised social and sporting events. There were also general events organised which were suitable for all ages, which made the office a very sociable workplace.

The cost of living near the office, outside the city centre is much cheaper than within the city centre itself. Local transport is also very good and well-priced. Socially, there are a lot of fun events and plenty of bars, pubs and clubs, which are cheap.

There was a good nightlife in Derby, which plentiful bars and pubs which had deals everyday. There are also a few clubs with a decent nightlife. Most people in Derby were also very friendly.

The office regularly organised Sports and social events every month. There were also sports teams such as football, badminton and cricket which met on a weekly basis.