Connected Car Undergrad Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Jaguar Land Rover. I came back for a 3 month summer placement and I was based in Connected Car. I learnt a lot from my experience and got the chance to do coding which is something I have always been interested in but never got the chance in the past. As a Mechanical Engineer, I had limited coding experience.

I felt very valued in the team. I was giving meaningful work that I had ownership over so I was able to work autonomously to complete all my tasks. At the end, I felt as though I had contributed greatly to the team. I was introduced to everyone in the wider team and was given the opportunity to hear about their different job roles which gave me a better idea of how the team fits within JLR.

I had a manager that I saw once a week and a supervisor that I could see as often as I needed. I saw my manager outside of the team meeting which gave me the chance to catch up 1:1. I was also assigned a grad buddy who I saw once a week with a group of other undergrads.

I was kept very busy and engaged during this placement experience. I had regular meetings to attend and I worked well in down time. My project had a strict timeline it was working to so I had to ensure I had good progress with it each day.

My level of responsibility was quite high considering the fact that I was only there for 3 months. I had the responsibility of setting up and using the rig of the new infotainment system and conducting tests. I also presented work to the wider Connected Car team which was nice.

I have gained skills that will be very beneficial for me moving forward. I had the opportunity to attend training sessions and also did eLearning courses. I did some online training courses for coding in JTML, Visual Basic and JavaScript to mention a few. I also developed my soft skills such as organisation and time management.

The office has a very relaxed atmosphere. Due to the smarter working initiative, there is flexible seating (where people don’t have fixed desks but rather an area their team is situated) which allows you to sit near many different people which helps to build your network. Everyone was very approachable as well.

My placement experience was positive. My manager ensured everything was set up for me before I arrived which allowed me to have a very smooth experience. The HR/placement people however were not as organised and sent information about a poster presentation day very late which did not give enough time to do it because in the last couple of weeks, you would be trying to finish your work and objectives. Unfortunately, it was compulsory so had to be prioritised above actual work.

The company cares a lot about personal training and development. They have many initiatives for graduates on the grad scheme and a few for undergrads. They want to help towards chartership and so they brought in an IMECHE representative for a question and answer session which proved to be beneficial.

At the moment, I am a little unsure about my future employment prospects with the company. After my industrial placement year, I was told I could come back for a summer placement (this one) and following a positive appraisal, I could come back as a graduate. I received a positive appraisal but due to hiring freezes recently, I am still waiting to hear back about the graduate scheme.

The social scene was amazing! I lived in a an accommodation with most of the other summer placement students and we did a lot of social events together. I also made friends with a lot of grads so I had the opportunity to socialise with them too and attend team socials.

Jaguar Land Rover have a scheme with a Coventry University accommodation provider which allows JLR placement students to live there for a reduced price. This was fantastic because it is generally quite difficult to find accommodation for just three months and it was relatively cheap. The social life around Coventry is okay but there was an opportunity to go to Leamington or Birmingham which was great.

The nightlife in Coventry is okay, I had a great time. It is also close enough to Leamington and Birmingham where you can take an uber back with friends in the morning or even wait for the first train back. Coventry and Leamington have many bars and clubs within walking distance.

Some of the undergrads had a football team they played in but I was not interested. I joined a professional network at Jaguar Land Rover that had some socials I attended. My team also had a social while I was there. We finished work at 4pm which gave you plenty of time to get involved in evening activities.