Undergraduate Engineer Review

I enjoyed my placement very much, I was given real responsibilities and projects to look after whilst working in the Vehicle Engineering department. My role also gave me good exposure and contact around other departments of the company which was extremely beneficial in learning about different aspects of their products. Furthermore I was treated like a regular employee and had access to their employee welfare and other similar opportunities enjoyed by their employees.

I felt my colleagues respected me as a regular employee and other members of the company outside of my team instead of a summer intern after I had settled into my role. Initially I had a mentor/mother figure in my team who helped me first get to grips with their systems and their way of work etc. For that I’m extremely grateful.

I received excellent support and guidance by my manager and by my supervisors. Whenever my manager was away or otherwise busy with other projects he left plenty of instructions and guidance for me. My colleagues naturally evolved to be my supervisors when working with them, and I think I benefited from their experience in industry.

Due to the nature of my role in Vehicle Engineering Management and managing projects, there are fluctuations in workload as expected. For example when other teams are away working on their allocated tasks there might not be much for me to do, and other times when they all report back or require our support then there is more work.

I was given plenty of responsibility during my placement, for example I was responsible to deliver the project on a mid-model year refresh on a couple of JLR models. Admittedly with help of my colleagues to deliver the project, but ultimately I was the person looking after the project instead of shadowing someone else. Another project allocated to me over the summer was to ensure timely delivery of vehicles for the press which was extremely important to the business, and that was my responsibility that they did.

I’m sure the “soft” skills I developed during my placement will help me in the rest of my working career. For example dealing with people, being assertive and professional standards around the office etc. One important lesson I learnt is face-to-face contact is the best way to contact someone and I should always strive for that, next on the list is telephoning and lastly emails. I feel I grew in confidence in approaching people from my placement which will hopefully stay with me for the rest of my degree, and even life.

The general atmosphere in my office was great, even though everyone might be busy there were always time for laughter and banter. Everyone got on well and the office is in general a fun environment. What I found was no one really let the stress from work get to them and were always positive, and most of them had time for others.

The work placement was well organised, there was a project for me to pick up as soon as I arrived with the appropriate support from my colleagues. Then from that point onwards I received plenty of support in organising the rest of the projects on my placement. It was straightforward to get started.

Jaguar Land Rover had plenty of online courses available for general personal development, and they also had a set of mandatory training for us when we began our placements which was helpful to set the scene. Everyone in the business was encouraged to develop and there is plenty of support both from courses made available for us and even financial support should we apply for it.

At the end of the placement all placement students had an interview with their manager as a review of their performance and whether they would support us being offered a graduate role (I was offered one with details to be confirmed). Future employment with Jaguar Land Rover would be great as they provide support in gaining Chartership status and I have met a few graduates who graduated in the 2000s and are now team leaders or equivalent.

There is an organisation called the Graduate Network within Jaguar Land Rover which is run by graduates, and us as undergraduate interns were invited to join them as well. They host a variety of activities such as sport, days out etc. Within the office amongst older colleagues who aren’t graduates any more, they usually have half day trips like go karting nearly monthly.

The cost of living was relatively low in Coventry in the midlands. We had access with student accommodation which was otherwise empty over the summer and they provided good quality rooms for a very competitive rate. Coventry being in the middle of the England made it cheap (and quick) to go visit other places which was great.

There were loads of pubs and restaurants in town if we fancied a meal out. A few night clubs open even though it was summer time when we wanted to go out. Leamington Spa which had more bars in comparison was close by, and there was also Birmingham if we fancied the adventure.

There were many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, for example my department had nearly monthly go karting trips and I was not forgotten about. We also had a departmental day trip to Wales for us to drive and experience our cars, as well as equivalent competitor vehicles.