Geometric Validation Intern Review

I undertook two main roles during my placement. When working on XR projects, my day to day work would often involve a lot of research, development and debugging in the Unreal Engine. When working on door topics, my day could consist solely of performing tests on car doors and flaps using a robot-arm testing system. Equally, I could spend a day cleaning and interpreting data, as well as generating plots that could help improve our understanding.

In terms of existing skills, it was interesting to see problem solving techniques such as Ishikawa Diagrams actually used, as this was something I struggled to understand the relevance of while studying. My computer-literacy has developed the most, having to learn two new pieces of software and generate a lot of spreadsheets. The highlights for me would be my experience using the Unreal Engine to support engineering problem-solving and operating a robot arm system to test car doors.

The nature of my role in XR meant I was essentially my own boss and solely responsible for my work. In this sense I had complete responsibility for developing functionality and completing projects, very rarely working collaboratively. In my role working on door analysis, I was for several weeks the only trained person on the robot system on the plant, and was responsible for providing initial training and support for my colleagues during my placement.

When working on XR, short of some training material put together by previous interns in my role there was little practical support, and most was left to independent learning. However, weekly meetings with colleagues who 'steered' the XR project alongside their day-to-day roles gave me focus. When working on doors, I received a lot of support, three colleagues visited from Germany to help train us on the robot system, and supported with analysis.

Everyone I worked with was really friendly and willing to help, and there was a good team atmosphere in my department that I felt a part of, despite my niche role. People took an interest in the work I was doing and engaged with it. I am not sure what I was expecting but it was much more relaxed than I thought it would be. In an office of mostly white middle aged men, the workplace could obviously have been more diverse and there were one or two conversations I overheard that did make me uncomfortable however, sadly I think the diversity and inclusivity was probably a lot better than it is in most companies of a similar nature.

I have enjoyed my placement a lot, the work has been engaging and felt valued, even if it had very little relevance to my degree. I have made a lot of new friends and experienced the highs and lows of professional life. I cannot pretend everything was rosy all the time but no placement will ever be like that, and that is part of the experience. That being said, reflecting on it now, I had a lot of fun and have learnt a lot too.

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In the application process, be enthusiastic and engaged. Remember, on top of as your skills and experience, your manager is looking for someone that they want to share an office space with! The same applies if you do secure a placement. You will only ever get as much out of a placement at BMW as you put it. It is a big place and as an intern it is very easy to slip away into obscurity if you do not put yourself out there and get involved.