3 Month Summer Placement, Body Engineering Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 month placement. It is just enough time to get a really good feel for the company and experiences what a full time job here would be like. My mentor and line manager made sure I got as much chance to visit and work with different departments as possible. I also got the chance to visit a supplier and attend events within work such as talks, undergraduate events and product feedback opportunities.

Initially it takes a lot of work to network with colleagues, like with any job. Once I became familiar with my team and better understood my role within it I felt as though the work I was doing was benefiting them. I was given tasks in meetings like every other person and I knew the work I was doing was as important as theirs. I was asked for information and to meet with people outside of my team in order to feedback which I knew my colleagues appreciated because the work I was doing was helping to even out their workloads.

It was the first time my team had had an undergraduate student and so initially my line manager and mentor were learning as they went along, just as I was, in terms of the relationship we were to establish. After a few weeks I knew to go to my supervisor for tasks and help with my work whereas my manager was also his manager and so we escalated things to him less frequently. I also received a mentor with a more personal and informal role as part of the Women in Engineering Sponsorship Scheme. I knew what I could go to each of the three for and at no point during my placement did I feel like I was unsupported. There are also wider support networks available such as the Graduate Forum and Undergraduate Networking Events.

The first few weeks I was not that busy but this was due to the stage my project was at and not a downfall of my managers or supervisor. They provided me with small tasks and I spent time completing online training courses which helped me gain knowledge about the company and specific product knowledge about the cars they sell. Once my project reached the next stage, about 3 weeks into the placement, I became much busier and felt more fulfilled in my role on a daily basis. No two days were the same and having meetings, visits and the project made the weeks go by very quickly.

I was given a lot more responsibility than I expected prior to starting my placement. I was treated like a member of the team from the start and was never treated as though I was incapable of doing something because I was 'only an undergraduate'. I was given entire tasks to work on by myself and it was therefore up to myself to find the necessary help or information I required. I could receive help whenever I needed it but I was in no way walked through anything or felt patronised at any point during my placement. I knew my place was to report to my supervisor and line manager with the work I produced but I did not feel that the work I was doing was only mine because it was beneath them.

I learnt how to learn on the job and how to network with people I may never actually meet in person. With such a large company and sites in various locations, not just in England but across the globe, it is important that I learnt the correct way in which to have effective meetings and conversations with both internal and external colleagues. This will help me to have effective group meetings and to network well with my course mates when I return to university. I also learnt a lot about Systems Engineering documents and these will be very useful in relation to any group or individual project I do in the future. These documents and processes taught me that although as engineers we want to get right to building prototypes or testing our ideas, the more time spent in concept generation and completing the pre-development matrices, data collection and requirement definition then the more successful your project is likely to be. By eliminating potential failure methods from the beginning then you are less likely to run into problems in the future. In general this placement has helped me to grow in confidence as I believe in my ability as an engineer more than sitting any exams could ever have proven. It has taught me that if you don't ask and discuss your queries then you'll never find out what you need, or it will be a lot more difficult. Knowledge sharing is the best way to help yourself and your company and having the wider business in mind when making decisions is always the best strategy to produce the best products.

As I completed my 3 month placement during the summer months the atmosphere in the office felt fairly relaxed and colleagues were friendly to each other in meetings and also in more social settings. Everyone came across very willing to help each other out and would make an effort to fit you in if you needed a meeting with them. Sometimes when deadlines were close or test procedures didn't go as planned, there was an air of tension within certain teams. This usually never lasted too long and the people themselves although stressed were never hostile or unpleasant to be around. I found the team I worked with a great group of people who were all very knowledgeable in their respective roles and there is a definite culture of mutual respect for one another. At JLR a new Neighbourhood Charter was introduced during my time there with a new way of looking at our working environment. This included things like always letting people know where you can be located, having contact details always up to date and the Working Smarter system. Working Smarter means that only certain people have assigned desks but all other desks are for anyone to use. In general, departments stayed in roughly the same area so that they were closer to the people they worked most frequently worked with but I found I never sat with the same people each day. I met people I never would have through my role but this encourages networking and a friendly atmosphere.

The Undergraduate Placement Scheme is well organised and I found it even better due to the Women in Engineering Sponsorship Scheme that I was chosen for. The induction day was informative and allowed us to hear from very senior members of the business about why our placements matter to the business and how we can make an impact. I also enjoyed how we got to meet other people who would be working at the same site we were. This made the first week easier as we could arrange to meet up for lunch and organise car shares. I enjoyed the fact the Graduate Forum got involved and set up events for us. I was fortunate to have an exciting project to join when I started my placement and although it took a few weeks to fully define what I would be doing, the work was always varied and it will not be over by the end of the placement. In fact if everything goes well then my project will still be developing and progressing when I return for my second summer placement next year. This allows me to rejoin my team and experience a different stage of product development which I think is an excellent opportunity. I think the placements could benefit from more group trips to other JLR sites, in particular the manufacturing sites. This not only gives undergraduates the chance to see the cars they may be working on in production but also allows us to see other areas of the business we may enjoy more than the one we are currently in.

I completed various online courses about product knowledge and general business initiates like equality in the workplace. These were not compulsory but helped me to use my free time effectively as well as broaden my knowledge of the company. I did not receive any role specific training, but I did not feel that this made my placement worse or that I was not able to do my job well.

On the WiE Sponsorship Scheme I am sponsored through my remaining years of university and also automatically accepted for a summer placement for every remaining summer until I graduate. Following graduation I would be able to join the graduate scheme without having to reapply. This final stage applies to everyone who completed a summer placement the summer prior to graduation, given that their manager recommends them to return to the company. The Graduate Scheme is an appealing one as it allows movement across various areas of the business in order for graduates to experience areas they may work with or want to work in in the future. This seems like a very good opportunity to me.

JLR have an agreement with Liberty Point student accommodation in Coventry and most of the 3 month placement students live there. This is where most of my social interactions stemmed from as I would meet for lunch with people I knew from there due to lift sharing or socialising with at weekends, For those who did not stay in halls there were networking events set up to provide an opportunity to meet other undergraduates and discuss our projects and experiences. In terms of with other colleagues, I know some people who had off-site team building days or social events in the evenings such as go-karting or pub quizzes. My team did not have any social events outside of work.

The cost of living is relatively low in Coventry. The deal JLR have with Liberty Point was very good and a lot less rent than I am used to paying in Glasgow. Commuting from Coventry to Gaydon is quite high in terms of petrol costs however this cannot be avoided. Socialising was limited to pubs, the cinema and shopping mainly but with the train station a 15 minute walk away it was easy to go away for the day or weekend.

Where I worked is mainly just the JLR site but where I lived there were plenty of pubs and restaurants to go to. A lot of employees live in Leamington Spa which is a lot closer to Gaydon than Coventry. There were social events arranged there for the Women in Engineering Scheme and I know of people who met their colleagues there after work on Fridays.

For me no, I attended one test facility visit and two off-site training days with the Women in Engineering Scheme. I would have liked to see the proving ground at Gaydon, where I work, and have been able to see other JLR sites.