Undergraduate Advanced Manufacturing Engineer Review

I greatly enjoyed my placement. I was involved in projects involving the participation of several technologies. It feels like an excellent environment to work, full of very talented people to learn from. I only wish I had more than three months to get involved in long term projects, so I could get to finish more meaningful objectives.

My close team always included me from day one. In any activity/meeting my manager would take me and introduce me in a nice and professional manner. However, this role is closer to an office job, and everyone is busy managing their stuff so there is not a huge amount of interaction within the wider team.

Both my principal engineer and my manager have been very supportive in every activity or project I take part. They always take the time to advice in any doubts I may have and to support when I need them to. Plus, my manager aimed this as a learning experience and he always ensures I get a positive learning outcome from every task.

Most days I have more than one meeting and a lot of programme organisation. However, most roles do not involve as much action as mine. Some of my fellow undergraduates ensure that they spend most days bored or not doing much, but I guess it always depends on the manager and the department you are in.

I am surprised with the amount of responsibility I have been given during this placement. I get to do the same level of tasks as my manger and principal engineer; the only difference is that I am more aligned to activities that I will be able to manage and close before the end of the placement.

Considering that I was aiming towards a Masters that includes management, this placement was very helpful in terms of skills development. My management, communication and organisational skills have grown a lot in the past weeks as they are skills that I use in a daily basis. It is great to continue my studies with a good real-world work experience.

Since this is a management based role, there was not as much interaction as I wished. So it can be very quiet at times. Plus, my team is not very large so I spend most of the time with my supervisor only. Still, the atmosphere is good, you feel you can talk to anyone from other technologies.

Very well organised. My manager and my supervisor had prepared a set of activities and projects I could potentially involve before I joined. They asked me if I was happy with their proposals and set measurables and learning outcomes to keep track of my progress during the three months in the company.

There is a lot of opportunities available for personal development. Lots of courses available online and you can request to take part on classroom courses as well. Managers should encourage this more though, because many undergrads are not aware or they feel scared to request to be part of company's courses.

It is obviously up to the candidate's skills and performance during the placement. But, most candidates perform well and they get offered to be part of the Graduate Scheme or to come back as an undergraduate for another summer. This is subject to availability in the department and the performance review with the manager at the end of the placement.

Yes, since most of the undergraduates live in the same place, it is very common to have lots of group chats to arrange fun activities and to sort out rides to and from work. Most undergraduates are happy to help each other. In the first induction events there are fun activities to get to know each other.

Most of undergraduates live in the same place in Coventry. There is a small discount for the summer rent but I would not say it is very cheap. It is affordable and convenient like I said before, since most of students on the placements live in the same place. Price for rent went up this year compared to last year though.

This is one of the downsides of leaving in a place like Coventry. There is only one main club and it is not great. Most undergrads go during the first couple weeks and then they all start leaving every weekend to different places because there is not much to do around.

If you were to take part of a 12 month placement, I would say there are many opportunities for outside work activities. However, since I am only for three months there is not much time to arrange much. Most of the benefits that the company offers to employees is subject to the length of their contract or they have to be permanent employees.