ME Summer Intern - Capability Acquisition Review

I've really enjoyed my time here - I felt the work I was doing was useful and interesting and taught me people skills that you just can't get from lectures alone. I got to spend some time on shop floor too, which really breaks up the day as staying purely in the office can get a little monotonous.

Everyone was very kind, and keen to explain things to me. I'm a very quiet person but I felt like they made a real effort to include me in things. The projects I was given were of actual business value, not just something to keep me out the way, and I felt like they trusted me to get on with things.

It's a little tricky as everyone in the office is so busy, and management are often out on business trips, but they did make time for me when I needed them.

Some days a little slow, but most were good.

My projects felt useful and important and although I could ask for help when I needed it, I was also left to my own devices to get on with things, and I felt trusted to do a good job. One project in particular involved talking with suppliers and I was pleased to be trusted to organise their visits myself.

This internship has made me feel more confident talking to groups of people on a subject I'm familiar with, and has helped me learn a lot about interacting with people. It's also given me some useful time/project management tools which will be very useful for my group project next year. It's also been really good to see some of the things I've studied in practise, even though they rarely work as well in industry as they do in the classroom.

It was fairly quiet but friendly. It took a long time for me to actually meet everyone in the office as my placement was during holiday season but everyone was very welcoming when I did meet them, it didn't seem clique-y or unfriendly like some places can.

Once I was there things seemed to flow fairly smoothly, but there could definitely have been more communication prior to my arrival between the early careers team and the team I was joining - it seemed very odd that they had placed an intern into a team without the team knowing anything about my background or experience. Also some online systems weren't set up before I arrived, and there was little guidance on how to use them, or who to call to get set up.

They were very happy for me to do any training, and encouraged me to experience other areas of the business where I could.

I'd be very happy if they invited me back for grad scheme. I may well still apply elsewhere to keep my options open, but at the moment I'm struggling to think of anywhere I'd prefer to work than Rolls Royce. They made me feel valued, and it really seemed like everyone cares about what they do.

I lived in Derby Uni halls along with most of the other interns, so it was very easy to make friends as we all lived together and most of us travelled in to work together too. I probably wouldn't have met most of the friends I made here if it weren't for living together as they all work in very different areas of the business.

Derby is a reasonably cheap city, especially if you can find the places that offer a student discount. Although Derby Uni halls are very expensive for what they are. Private housing probably would have been a lot cheaper and nicer, but I think it was worth the expense for the social side of things.

Not fantastic in Derby itself, but there is easy access to Nottingham which is a great city. There's a bus that goes direct down the A52 and runs until 3:30 on Friday/Saturday nights.

The agA (apprentice and graduate association) organise plenty of socials (from cocktail classes to skydiving to sports days), and also some sports clubs which are reasonably priced and good fun. Another good way to meet people.