Engineering Strategy and Project Management Intern Review

The team I was in had a great atmosphere - I was always encouraged to ask questions, given the opportunity to shadow various colleagues, and always treated as a valued member of the team. Also, the work I was given included a range of tasks, some of which were self-allocated.

I think my team was incredible. People frequently took time out of their day to talk to me (sometimes for half an hour at a time) one-on-one and explain the intricacies of my work. Furthermore, colleagues would ask me if I wanted to join them at a meeting or going out to do some benchmarking on a vehicle - which was always fun!

My day-to-day manager was very helpful, always helping me if I was stuck. I would say however that I had little contact with my head manager, but this was probably expected as he's very busy and higher up the hierarchy. This made it slightly awkward however as I was set 3 seats down from him yet felt I had never gotten to know him at all.

This varied day-to-day. The first two weeks I was not properly introduced to my main task, so I found myself with some dead time. Here I should've probably just summoned the courage to ask for more work. Once I was settled in I had various tasks so had more than enough to do, and was able to switch between tasks if I got bored of one or stuck.

I was given a perfect amount of responsibility, as someone who doesn't want to feel like I have a huge weight on my shoulder. I was fully responsible for a few projects, including creating a new process and also the creation of a new proposal for a symbol - the latter included holding meetings alone with people I had never met within the company and was pretty fun.

I did not receive any training, but I believe this is because I was only on a 3 month internship and none of my tasks required it. However, I think the most valuable skills I improved were non-technical, and related to my ability to manage my own time and prioritise tasks, as well as how to present to a board of people I do not know.

It was great! We had pudding club on Fridays - although this isn't a company-wide thing and you shouldn't expect this. There was frequently snacks as well from people bringing back treats from their holidays. People focused on their work and yet were willing to join in on a joke, and quite a few good moments will stay in my memory.

It was well organised - my manager had tasks allocated to me before I arrived, there was a placement review near the end of the placement as well as a chance for me to reflect on my work and present if I so wished to my fellow undergraduates. I was however disappointed that no site tours were set up until the last 3 weeks of the internship when we had gotten the invite to sign up 2 months before.

I don't think I felt invested in by the company as a whole, as there wasn't many perks offered except on the first day where I briefly got to join in Land Rover Experience. However, I felt like my team invested much of their time into me.

I think employment prospects are appealing because you know you will have a nice job, with a good group of colleagues and a balanced home and work life. However, as someone who is quite ambitious I don't think I see myself having a very bright future within JLR. I think this is the feeling a lot of the undergraduates had, who also didn't want to just work within the company for 20 years and slowly rank up the chain of command.

There was a group chat and people frequently went out. It helped that all the 3 month undergraduates lived together at Coventry University accommodation and traveled to and from work together.

Rent at Coventry university was £100 a week for an ensuite - with linen changes and general cleaning once a week. There were lots of cheap takeout places closeby, and many cheap supermarkets such as an ASDA. However, not easy to get around if you don't have a car, or know someone with a car.

A few pubs and a weatherspoons, but not many clubs if any. However, Birmingham is a 15 minute train away, and has a much more active nightlife as a major city.

There were a few tours offered of the manufacturing plant and the classics facility, however these were not arranged til the last few weeks of the internship period. There were also quite a few undergraduate societies, such as Simply Drive (build an electric racing car, kinda like Formula Student). You were permitted to spend 6 hours of your working hours on these side projects.