Undergraduate Engineer Review

Overall, the internship was very enjoyable – the team I worked with was friendly and approachable, the work was fulfilling and I was able to gain a bigger appreciation of what an engineering job entails. I was given a lot of freedom in the way I approached my projects which was very much appreciated, as I could play closer to my strengths.

The projects I worked on felt valuable as I was explained before starting why this work was needed, what they were hoping to use my work for in the future and how they were applicable to the automated driving sector. Presenting my work and receiving strategic feedback also amplified this sense of investment by my colleagues in my projects.

As our team sat within the immediate vicinity of one another, my manager and supervisor (along with my other teammates, of course) were always available to provide advice on not only engineering and technically related matters, but also on topics related to the company itself. The guidance provided by my supervisor were in-depth but concise, and was certainly one of the primary modes of development during my placement here.

The placement started relatively slow in the beginning, but workload definitely started to grow reasonably within the first week. My work was focused on one primary project, whilst providing support on several secondary projects as well. It's important to note that if I found myself with spare capacity, I was always able to ask my supervisor/team members for additional work.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility during my placement – the need to be self-propelled in the work on my primary project to complete the required deliverables is one of the reasons why. Additionally, tasks such as coordinating and leading vehicle tests also gave me additional roles of responsibility during my placement here.

I learned a whole range of skills outside of my engineering discipline which was an aspect I found immensely valuable, where the systems-level approach can be applied to many engineering tasks in real life. Additionally, I also gained a better understanding of the career path I'm interested in pursuing, and will certainly influence the way I approach my final year in university to orient myself towards this path.

Overall, the placement was fairly well organised – consistent and constant updates were given to us by the coordinator so that we were always informed about upcoming events and deadlines. Should any issue arise, the responses were also quick such that they were resolved in a short period of time.

Personal training and development were provided through multiple faucets. Firstly, the training from my supervisor and manager were much more tailored to the company role I was given and helped me develop my engineering potential. Being much more one-on-one, I was also able to ask more personally specific questions that I may not have to the opportunity to bring up otherwise. Company-wide training events were also held, providing training on skills such as programming in several languages (C, Python, MATLAB, etc) and engineering domains (networking, CAD, etc). Personally, I attended sessions on C-Programming and machine learning as they resonated more with my personal interests.

There was definitely a sense of camaraderie between the interns; having most of us living together in the same accommodation certainly attributed to that feeling. Most of us had lunch together on most days, and went on a fair number of evenings out. After the placement, I'm sure I can still call several of my fellow interns my friends.

The company site itself was located in Gaydon, although most of the interns either lived in Coventry or Leamington Spa. Living in Coventry myself, the cost of living wasn't high – accommodation stood out as being notably affordable provided the services/facilities included during my stay. Activities such as getting a pint or watching a film was also relatively inexpensive in the area.

Once again, the company site was in Gaydon which is fairly sparse. In Coventry, unfortunately one of the bigger clubs was closed over the summer but there are certainly other noteworthy pubs/clubs in the area that are worth visiting during the evening. Birmingham is also a short train ride away and the nightlife is certainly brimming there.