EDS Engineer Review

During my placement, I managed to get stuck in with the development of the newly announced F type, which is fantastic.

During the placement, I had to work as another member of the team, providing a valuable contribution to the project. Throughout it was clear that my colleagues were extremely grateful to have an extra person on board.

I was placed in the hands of a team leader for the EDS Ftype project by my manager. They provided a significant amount of support, ensuring that I maximised both practically and theoretically from my placement.

Some days were a bit slow, however 90% of the time the placement I was extremely busy, working of numerous factors for the project.

With going in to my final year of uni, and showing initiative, I was left in charge of aspects of projects which envolved chasing different departments and management amongst other things - a role usually undertaken by the module leader. This was a massive responsibility.

With the department I was in, I had to work with lots of different people, whether it be colleagues of suppliers. This vastly increased my communication skills which will help in my final year of uni. It also gave me a great insight in to more project managerial roles, and how to organise and plan my time more effectively. Again, an extremely valuable outcome for going in to my final year.

Everyone in the department was very welcoming, and always happy to help.

The overall running of the placement was well done. The human resource department are well organised, and able to answer any queries I had throughout the process.

Other than experience gained from the working environment and project I was envolved in, there wasn't much specific developments. Certain aims and objectives were set at the beginning of the placement, and reviews completed at the end to see how you met them objectives.

At the end of the placement I completed a small assessment centre and was offered a job after doing well on the placement.

Before starting the placement, the HR deperament set up a undergrad facebook page. This allowed all placement students to communicate prior to starting, and we set up accomodation in Coventry student halls making the placement extremely sociable.

I stayed in Coventry, where was reasonably cheap to live, and there was a cinema, ice skating, laser quest and everything you need within 10 minutes walk.

The nightlife was good. There is some nice pubs in Coventry, and the clubs (although some are dingy) were what I expected. It's also only a short train ride to Leamington Spa and Birmingham, both of which I had some fantastic night outs in.

During the placement, the undergrads as a group organised numerous trips to different places like Alton Towers, cayaking, adventure parks and numerous others.