Engineering Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed my time at Rolls-Royce, and would gladly work there again/do another internship there. Whilst obviously enjoying time off at weekends, I often looked forward to Monday morning and getting back to work since I found it interesting and challenging.

I felt that my colleagues, and especially my manager, really appreciated me being there and thought I was a good addition to the team. I overheard comments from various colleagues as I was leaving that it was a real shame I couldn't stay longer, as I had made a significant contribution and would be missed. Clearly therefore I felt valued by my colleagues there.

My supervisor was excellent in giving me support and guidance with respect to my job, the team and what I should be doing.

Although at the start I had little to do, and thought the internship could end up being very dull, I quickly was given more to do once the team realised I was capable of it. Indeed, I essentially took on one of the other engineers roles whilst he worked on other thing, meaning I had plenty of work to do. This never became too much however, and in any cases where I needed help with something my supervisor was happy to provide it.

As mentioned above, I pretty much took on somebody else's role, with only the support and guidance I really required or requested. I was essentially given the job to do and went about it however I saw fit. I found this to be a great way of working, and not necessarily what I expected- I really appreciated it though!

I think that the placement has definitely refocussed some of my priorities for my degree, and which module choices will be most relevant to an actual engineering job. The placement will also set me up well for a career in engineering, since it gave me a taste of what it is like in industry, and whether it is actually something I would like to work in.

My team in particular was very friendly and jokey, and an excellent group to work with. In general, everybody I talked to in the office was very friendly and easy to get on with.

Given the sheer number of interns, Rolls-Royce has to have a proper process set up and it shows. In general everything from induction days to departure was well arranged and set up. There were some issues with I.T. and creation of my account which took a while to resolve, but this was due to a company-wide I.T. policy shift and not something the internship program had control over.

There were general induction courses, but the majority of training was done on the job informally by my supervisor or within my team. The relatively short time frame for which I was there limited the opportunities for any long training courses, which would otherwise have been offered.

Rolls-Royce has a well organised Graduate scheme which I intend to enrol on if offered a place. Having done an internship this requires no additional application from me, and an offer is based on my performance within the internship.

Nights out were organised every Friday and sports and other events of various kinds were organised pretty much every weekday evening after work. The Apprentice Association at Rolls-Royce was very well run, and frequently offered discounted activities such as go-karting.

Bristol is not the cheapest place to be, but having studied there at University and already having a house there I knew the best places to go for drinks and food etc. without paying a fortune.

Nightlife in Bristol is very good, especially during term time with all the students being around. Over the summer there are still enough students, locals and fellow interns to make an excellent night of it wherever you go. There is a great deal of choice in bars and clubs, and if you go to the right places drinks need not be too expensive.

As mentioned above, the Apprentice Association arranged many events, meaning there were many out of work activity opportunities.