Project Engineer in the Vehicle Safety Test Laboratory Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the placement. From the first week, I was provided with a lot of responsibility and trusted to get on as I saw fit, with guidance being provided whenever required. The flexibility of the work was a huge bonus for me and I was able to select my own hours and choose how I spent my days.

I felt highly valued by my colleagues at all times and was very rarely (if ever) treated as anyone other than a full member of staff. In meetings, colleagues listened to my opinion and would be open for discussion, rather than casting me off as 'just an intern' which is what I expected would be the case as a placement student.

As mentioned previously, quality guidance was provided whenever I needed it and was not given in an overbearing way, allowing me to develop my own solutions to problems. Towards the end of my project, my manager provided me with a few contacts from other areas of the business to get in touch with in order to grow my understanding of the business as a whole.

As I planned my daily workload myself, I ensured that I had an appropriate amount of work to do at all times, so as not to get bored. There were instances out of my control where I could not proceed as expected (such as colleagues going on holiday) though this was to be expected over the summer months.

As discussed in the first section, I was given a large amount of responsibility with my project as I was effectively in charge of the relocation of a £1.2 million facility. If ever I was in need of any information it was up to me to get in contact with the right member of staff and I personally held numerous meetings with suppliers from outside the business.

Due to the managerial nature of my placement, the skills gained are unlikely to contribute to my final year studies (as the majority of my modules are theoretical), however they will prove to be invaluable in my later career as I will have relevant experience and a good understanding of the different areas of a large company.

I worked in two different offices during my placement, one which incorporated a hot desk system and one where staff had a more fixed seating arrangement. Although both offices were different, the atmosphere in both was great and the employees all seemed to get on with each other really well.

The programme itself was run excellently with various opportunities to meet and discuss any issues with a member of staff. The induction day was great and really sold the company to us straight away. With regards to the placement, my manager knew what he wanted me to do before my arrival so I always had something to be getting on with.

The training system 'Catalyst' was open for placement students to use and I could enrol myself on a variety of courses at any time, even undertaking them during working hours with the consent of my manager. I also had a number of days experience viewing different areas of the business and was able to take a company car out for the day to view a crash test.

The company is growing at a relatively fast rate meaning there are a large amount of positions available for interns and graduates. Personally, I have been referred to the graduate programme (assuming that graduates are being hired in the year to come) without having to go through another application process which is really convenient.

A large amount of undergraduates all lived in the same block of flats so there was always someone to see. Unfortunately the night life in Coventry left a lot to be desired so there was not always too much to do, however this has no bearing on Jaguar Land Rover as they organised a number of events to get everyone together.

The cost of living and socialising in Coventry was fairly average.

The nightlife in Coventry is poor.

There was a variety of employee schemes which could be undertaken, including experience days (such as rally driving, golf etc), sport competitions (sponsors of the rugby world cup) and other volunteer work that you could do, if you wished. There were also departmental nights out which were organised from time to time.