Power Academy Intern Review

I fully enjoyed my placement with National Grid. The project work was both fascinating and rewarding and my colleagues were very hospitable. National Grid HQ is also probably one of the most pleasant engineering firm offices in the UK; the aesthetic and atmosphere of the building is akin to a university library. The friendships made with the other students on my internship program also contributed to making my experience at National Grid enjoyable.

It is important to appreciate the significance of the tasks that the professional engineers at National Grid are working on; at times colleagues would disappear for weeks at a time on international factory inspections or site visits across the UK. The engineers I worked alongside were very accommodating and kind but with a 2 month placement, this lack of continuity within the office made it hard to build friendships. Having said that, most of the interns were in a similar boat and we were able to form a little community and help each other through our time there.

Regrettably, I had a unique set of circumstances which meant that the support and guidance from my supervisor was not at the standard of my fellow interns. I had a shorter placement period, during which my supervisor was absent for almost half of the time. The first chance I had for significant feedback was in my “final” review. Whilst I did not have the best mentoring from my supervisor it was merely due to the circumstance; the lessons learned from my experiences will also make the situation less likely to repeat itself.

There is always, always, somebody to talk to or something to visit when on placement at National Grid. As an electrical engineering student I had the opportunity to visit the control centres, substations, and transformer scrapping yards; things that beforehand had remained an abstract concept taught in class. The company is so vast, with many experts in different power engineering fields, you could meet with someone new each day and gain a new piece of knowledge each time. Trying to absorb what I was learning from this immersion alongside completing my project kept me fairly busy each day.

The project I was working on was to investigate the impact of space weather on power transformers. Solar storms, the sort that produces the aurora borealis, can saturate transformer cores and may lead to malfunction or damage. The work I performed during my placement will contribute to the National Grid’s review of space policy and was not inconsequential.

The skills I had the chance to develop during my placement were predominately focused around time management. Initiative and project planning were crucial as I worked towards my time sensitive goals. The habits which contribute to successful time management are especially useful for university where it can be easy to slip into a more relaxed routine.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous question, National Grid HQ is unlike any other office that I’ve heard friends from other companies describe. Nobody is committed to use the same desk each day and the floor plan and design has the atmosphere of a university. This move away from the Dunder Mifflin style of office makes it a genuinely pleasant place to work. There is also a feeling of real cooperation and openness within the building, no doubt fostered in some part by the positive interior design.

It is fair to say that National Grid have invested in my development above what might be reasonably expected from a company. Through the IET’s Power Academy program I have not only received summer placements with National Grid but also a bursary during the academic year, helping me focus less on money and more on my performance. This double benefit of the placements and bursary has helped me develop as an engineer, especially considering that the placement has presented numerous learning opportunities such as visiting National Grid substations.

It is apparent from my internship that National Grid is an excellent place to work as the company proactively encourages its employees to gain new knowledge and experience of the various aspects of its operations. The challenges National Grid face and their role in society contributes to making it very desirable. I hope to pursue my career there in the future.

I cannot understate the importance that the community of fellow placement students had in contributing to the overall positive experience I had on my placement. I lived with 3 other interns and lived basically next door to a further 4; each evening there was something to do or somebody to hang out with. It can be quite an isolating experience being alone in a major company whilst you try to find your feet, so having friends to go through it together with is a massive help.