Reactor Systems Summer Placement Review

I worked within the engineering department of a world class nuclear power station. The work was extremely interesting and allowed myself to apply nuclear, mechanical and chemical engineering theory from my degree to real world problems. Solving technical problems and helping to manage small projects was very satisfying. The largest benefit of working within EDF Energy however was the shear amount I learnt about nuclear technology.

As part of the team which looked after the reactor systems I felt very much included in many of the major projects which occurred on the plant. After proving my technical ability my supervisors were very keen to include myself in interesting assignments and for myself to see anything happening on site which was beneficial to my development. The social side within and external to work was also extremely good.

I was given large amounts of support by my mentor - we met on a daily basis and my line manager with whom I met on a biweekly basis. In addition I was assigned an IMechE mentor to complete a quarterly report on the work (even though I am an undergraduate). This work will be counted towards my charter ship application. Interesting challenges were set by both my mentor and my line manager - they were also always available to help on tricky problems some of which needed the experience of many years working on the plant to solve. Both my mentor and line manager gave extremely valuable career guidance for within EDF Energy.

I was extremely busy on all days ! I found it enjoyable rather unlike the pressure at university ! I found that once I had completed one task well more challenging tasks were placed upon myself. Support was always on hand from colleagues and I was never worked too hard. The work load was never too much so that work was not enjoyable. Time was allocated for training - this training was of extremely good quality.

I was given large amounts of responsibility - however as one would expect with a nuclear plant I had to prove my skills first I think this was a very sensible way of going about being allocated tasks. The responsibilities I was given were both technical and managerial (in relation to projects). By the time I left to return to university I was carrying out an acting system owners role upon some of the systems (under mentorship of course!)

The skills I developed and training I received were extremely valuable for my degree. Since returning to university I offered assistance with the design review of the nuclear course to ensure that the right skills are offered by my university for careers within the nuclear division of EDF Energy. The skills and knowledge I acquired on how nuclear plants work and how to manage them will be invaluable for the rest of my academic studies. It also provides myself with motivation, as I can see where the theoretical topics studied at university fit into the 'real world'. The skills developed are also invaluable to a vast number of technical roles within the nuclear industry.

The atmosphere was very pleasant. It was a professional yet fun place to be. There was a real team spirit and everyone helped each other. My colleagues were always very approachable and offered to help if there was anything I was unsure about. I very much miss the atmosphere and people I worked with now I am back at University. Despite the volume could get quite high, the cleverly designed office meant it was always possible to concentrate on thought provoking tasks.

The placement was extremely well organised with regular meeting between myself, my mentor and my line manager. Training was planned intelligently around interesting projects and I was able to make the most of the statuary outage due to allocation of assignments. The onboarding process was very quick for the nuclear industry and at all stages communication was very good from HQ. I felt a great amount of time and effort had gone into planning my placement. My colleagues certainly spent a large amount of time coaching myself.

I received first rate technical training in both plant systems and management. I was also allocated a professional development mentor in addition to the mentor within my team. I have joined the monitored professional development scheme within EDF Energy which facilitates CEng status. This mentorship and training not only enriched the opportunities and work I could undertake but was also enjoyable. The skills learnt will help add gravitas to subjects studied within my degree.

Very appealing. There is shortage of nuclear engineers within this country as a whole. Essentially as the nuclear renaissance takes off more and more nuclear engineers are required. EDF Energy has an extensive graduate development and recruitment prospects. The T&C's within EDF Energy upon commencement of a fulltime role and further up the career ladder are the best within the nuclear industry.

There was a good social scene between young people, internships, placements, grad scheme, contract partners and apprentices. The large generously priced canteen ensured everyone got to know each other and many social events occurred. The friendly atmosphere on the power station was unlike that I have experienced with any workplace. I have made friends for life within EDF Energy, to an extent that my social life at work during my placements has been better than at University.

Being based up north in Lancaster the cost of living was cheap and so was that of socialising. Despite the cheap prices there was a large variety of things to do and see. Although housing costs were cheap, the living quality was extremely high. I was fortunate enough to live on the sea front in a nice area with a beautiful sea view on two miles from work.

The nightlife was good for a town the size of Lancaster. Although the students had left during my placement Friday and Saturday nights in town were very lively. Although some may complain about the lack of variety I felt there was something for everyone and the prices for drinks and entry to clubs was extremely good. There was a real team spirit - even away from work on a night out.

Despite the relatively small size of Lancaster, due to a large student population there was an awful lot of activities that one could engage with. Having the beautiful lake district nearby was an added bonus. These activities ranged from water sports to climbing. Lancaster is also less than an hour from Manchester where an innumerate range of activities could be carried out !