Process Engineering Intern Review

My role primarily involved line support with my mentor, which involved a large amount of communication with shop floor technicians, and technical experts in the research team. If the issue ended up being due to an issue with the process itself (i.e. with released tooling or build instructions) then it was within our area, and was our responsibility to resolve and improve. This varied day to day, but took up a large portion of time, especially as an inexperienced intern. The rest of my time was taken up coming to grips with the change management system, which I mainly used to release new tooling and build instruction changes.

Prior to the placement, I struggled with time management and felt constantly overwhelmed with university workload. During the placement I was able (more learnt by necessity due to the busy nature of the job) to break my tasks into smaller pieces and find a good system to help organise myself. This was partially trial and error, but there were also trainings provided on this subject which were helpful. I also learned how to approach the steep learning curve of the job (I am a medical engineer with minimal understanding of MRI physics), which I feel I can now apply to other situations with a similar learning curve. I also learned how to communicate more effectively, both through email (which was the typical form of communication for issuing instructions) and when directly speaking to people.

Yes. Due to the small (I consider it understaffed) team I was placed in my mentor was responsible for performing sole engineering duties for a large section of the production line. As my knowledge and ability improved, I took on a larger part in this, and did occasionally perform solo line support if my mentor was off/ busy. While the majority of the improvement projects I was given were quite small (mainly due to the time frame, some of these improvement projects take years to design and complete) it was sufficient to feel that my contributions did have an impact.

The guidance I received from my mentor was fantastic. However, again due to the nature of my team, my line manager (though helpful and supportive when he was available) had a very full schedule and so was not often aware of my work/ activities. I was fortunate to have a very patient mentor. I know other members of my team were not able to find this support in the same way. Support from technical experts and technicians was also invaluable to performing the role successfully.

Very friendly across all staff. I was able to develop a network of people who I was able to turn to for support and advice.

I honestly had a great time. There were a large quantity of interns (about 17 of us). We got on well, and it was nice to meet people in a similar situation to me. They also became the majority of my social life outside of work. I found the work enjoyable, challenging enough, occasionally overwhelming during busy periods, but on the whole manageable. While I would have liked to experience other sectors within the facility, I was fortunate that the role I was selected for after the assessment day (which I accepted not fully understanding the job description) was very well suited to me and my skillset.

Yes

I would recommend the placement. They take both the placement and you seriously. For process engineering, they're looking for evidence of softer skills (I.e. problem solving ability and understanding of engineering principles) rather than technical understanding. You'll learn as you go.