Design Engineering Placement Student Review

I worked as part of the design engineering team to create and improve existing engine aftertreatment systems. My day to day tasks included revising prints to be sent to customers or the manufacturing team, compiling presentations for Project Leaders to review and sign off before being shared with customers, writing reports on completed projects and solving issues encountered with existing or in-development products. The work was very varied and I'd either be 100% focused on one project or testing my multitasking skills.

This placement was a good opportunity to develop the engineering theory gained from university in a practical setting with work that will come to fruition. In particular is was good to try out a new industry standard CAD software. I've frequently had opportunity to develop notworking, communication and presenting skills. Time management and task prioritisation are other skills I've had to adapt to work in a larger team. However I haven't learned any completely new industry specific skills.

Whilst I was involved with important projects I rarely (if ever) made any big decisions regarding the direction to progress designs in or creating component concepts. Most of the time decisions had already been made by my superiors and I was doing the work they wanted done. In fairness, this could have been because I joined the company mid-way through a big project and I appreciate that I was the one in the team with the least experience!

The first month was great with frequent meetings and check-ins from HR as well as near constant contact with the placement student who I was taking over from. However once they left I felt rather unsupported and unaware of what daily tasks to focus on or who to contact for extra work. All placement students were supposed to be assigned a mentor outside their department to support them with any problems but these weren't assigned until half way through the placement.

It's hard to judge this as I worked for Cummins through COVID-19 and was 100% work-from-home. However they seem a lovely bunch of people who I got along well with. The general atmosphere during team meetings was focused yet relaxed with the occasional laugh. I visited the office for my assessment day and interview: everyone there made an effort to make us feel relaxed and it was a great experience (considering it was interview day!)

In general I enjoyed my placement at Cummins. The team I worked with were very welcoming and easy to get along with. I felt included from the beginning with near contact with the previous placement student showing me the ropes. The work and projects were varied and interesting however there were often days when I was left with little work to do. I am disappointed that I missed out on a lot of the social aspects and experiences of this placement due to remote working and COVID however this is through no fault of Cummins!

Yes

Ask as many questions as you need to! This applies to everything from the interview to the job! Everyone is more than happy to talk you through things and give demos. It would be a bonus if you had an interest in working with other departments and branching out - all departments are intertwined and often overlap.