Mechanical Engineer Summer Intern Review

Worked in a multi-disciplinary team of engineers (one mechanical, one electrical and one control and instrumentation engineer) within Centrica Power to look into the feasibility of implementing tracking solar panels into large scale solar farms in the UK. Had daily stand up meetings with the other interns to plan the day, daily meetings with our line manager and weekly meetings with our project sponsor. Involved lots of research into the technologies and costs involved, summarising our findings in a report with an interactive excel model that shows the best technology to implement in a given scenario. We also had site visits to Easington Gas Terminal and Brigg Power Plant which was really informative and fun days out!

Throughout the placement I improved on my communication and collaboration with both the other interns and with high up managers in the company. I learnt how to change my style of communication when addressing different people in the company and now have more confidence when reaching out to unfamiliar colleagues and feel more comfortable in Teams calls. In addition to this, I also became much more capable with presenting in front of large audiences and became more organised and better and managing multiple deadlines effectively.

During my summer internship I was given a lot of responsibility in the project although this project was set specifically for the summer interns so was not really integrated into the company as a whole. We were also given large amounts of responsibility in the charity challenge. I took the lead in our group and ended up contacting many charities, forming professional relationships on behalf of the group and ensuring I was keeping Centrica's reputation high.

This was something that I was really happy to experience during the summer placement as from the get go it was a really supportive and welcoming company to work with. I received a lot of support from our manager as he was happy to have daily meetings to ensure we were staying on track and iron out any problems. I also found a lot of support through my fellow interns, making it an inclusive place to work. The wider team at Centrica Power also made me feel really welcome, offering help with their areas of expertise and I always felt I could reach out to them on Teams.

I found the company culture really welcoming and inclusive. Everybody treated the interns with respect and genuinely wanted you to thrive. Within Centrica Power we had weekly meetings with the project development team where they would discuss the projects they were working on and always included us in conversation. There was a lot of banter both in the office and on Teams and people would frequently ask after missing colleagues, concerned about their wellbeing. This led to a really close knit section of the company but also one that would make big efforts to include new people and grow their network.

I really enjoyed the placement, the opportunities to network with the other 100 interns meant that it was a really social and fun time. At times, when working remotely (5 out of 9 weeks) I found the placement less enjoyable especially if the project had slowed down but frequently had Teams calls with the other engineering interns to keep us motivated. Some highlights of the internship that I found really enjoyable were the site visits and the charity challenge day where my team and I spent the day together giving back to the community.

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Be yourself in the video stage of the application process, they know you're human!! Also at the assessment center stage make sure you're familiar with your CV as this is something they discuss with you. Make sure you're familiar with what Centrica do, all the businesses within Centrica and the company's values as these are really important to Centrica and these should be values that you align with so show them how!