Summer Intern in Civil Aerospace Review

I worked as an engineering intern in one of the departments. During a normal day I would get in to the office between 8 or 9. There was no specific start time as long as you work 40 hours a week ( so 8 hours a day) and that you are present in core hours 10-14. I only worked with theoretical work so I would spend most of my day at the desk working on my projects.

I have learned a lot of new skills during my internship, especially within in various softwares. I have learned how to create models and run simulations on these, and how to compare these results to previously obtained one. I have also learned fluid dynamics, and how to use ANSYS FLUENT to do work with this. As part of an intern project I have also learned how to make poster, and I had the opportunity to practise public speaking by presenting it to an audience.

The task I was given was on work that actually needed to be done, and not just busy work. I therefore had some responsibility in making sure that this project was done well so that it could be helpful. As the internship was a mixture of training and doing this project, I did not really have any projects that I was responsible for. There are not many leadership opportunities for interns. However, this meant that there was less pressure and I could focus on delivering my project and developing my skills.

I received a lot of support and guidance during my internship. I had both a line manager and an additional manager during my internship. I was also sitting with the team I was working in, so I could easily talk to others and ask them questions if I was stuck. We also had two days of induction at the beginning of the internship where they gave us a lot of information, which was helpful for knowing where to go for various questions (such as IT) during our internship.

The general atmosphere was very good in my department. Everyone is really friendly, and it seems like most get along. The people in the gatehouse are also very welcoming. They also made us interns feel quite included as they invited us to the employee socials during our internship. There are also Employee Resource Groups that are possible to join, such as an LGBT group, Disability Group, BME Group, etc. All in all, the company culture makes this a good place to work.

I really enjoyed my internship as I felt like I was well supported, and that I got a good mix of training opportunities and relevant projects. I also worked in the same department as other interns, which was a bonus during the internship. In addition to interesting work and nice colleagues, I enjoyed the social events that were organised both by the early careers team just for interns/graduate/apprentices, and also those organised by the employees for full time employees.

Yes

I would advice reading up about Rolls-Royce and finding out which department you would like to work in, as they place interns in many different areas of the business. For the application process, be yourself in the cover letter and play on your strengths. Even if you don't study aerospace engineering, find something that links your course and experience to aerospace engineering. For the assessment centre, prepare and practice your presentations thoroughly so that you feel comfortable during the interviews.