Undergraduate Engineer Review

I have worked for JLR for two summer placements and have loved my time here. I have been involved in a variety of work including research, presentations and hands on benchmarking. Whilst only being in a team for 12 weeks, I learned a huge amount and was able to make a good contribution.

I always felt very valued by those who I worked with. After starting in the team I was immediately invited to any social occasions which helped me to get to know my colleagues. Most tasks I completed required me to do a short presentation, where my colleagues were keen to listen to what I had to say, despite my inexperience.

I was given a sufficient amount of support in any tasks I was given. Most of the time there was a good balance between me being told what to do and having the freedom to solve problems independently. I had a good support system in my team and when I didn't have enough information there were multiple people I could ask for help.

I wasn't always given enough work to do as there were quieter periods throughout the summer when I was at JLR. However, I gained confidence in asking for more work to do, which was always welcomed. There is a lot of freedom in how much work you want to take on. You need to be able to balance your own workload effectively.

I have worked on a lot of project management/process improvement related tasks which has helped immensely when returning for university to complete my dissertation. I am much more effective in project planning than I was before.

I work in a large building that is mostly open plan offices. My team take part in a lot of meetings so some days I hardly sit at my desk. Unless we are working to a stressful deadline, the team is relaxed. Everyone is friendly and willing to answer any questions I have.

All undergraduates attend a 2-3 day induction before starting in the office. I noticed a huge improvement from this summer to last in the organisation of the induction events. My team take part in a variety of projects so it would be difficult to plan exactly what I was going to do whilst I was there. My manager was excited to get me involved with as many projects as I wanted to. The downside was that the IT department did not give me a working laptop for 5 weeks. This is essential to working at JLR so I was let down by them.

The company are very keen to rehire undergraduates who have performed well on placement. I was able to return for a second summer without interviewing. I have now been given a verbal offer to return when I graduate. If you perform well during your internship, it is highly likely that you will be asked to return at another time.

The area (Leamington Spa/Warwick) was more expensive than my hometown for rent/bills/socialising. I previously stayed in student halls in Coventry which cost £100 per week.

With my team, we had a few social nights which I was always invited to. We also volunteered to build a mud kitchen at a local school, which was a great opportunity to work together on a non work project. As well as this, I was able to volunteer at a STEM day at a local high school.