Manufacturing Engineering Summer Intern Review

I am very grateful for the opportunity to have been able to spend 10 weeks at Rolls-Royce plc. I very much enjoyed the internship and would definitely consider returning for a graduate position it offered one.

I was very much treated with respect by both my colleagues and management alike. For projects I was involved with my opinions and suggestions were considered at the same level as other employees. I was fortunate enough to be able to visit a number of other RR sites across the country which I found really interesting and useful to see.

Support was always there when I needed it although I did my best to attempt as much work as I could independently.

Levels of business varied greatly depending on the project I was involved with but even just in my department (Rotatives), how busy interns were varied greatly from one to the next. There were times where I didn't have much to do but I tried to actively seek out work during these quieter times. Throughout most of my 10 weeks I had things to be getting on with.

As an intern in a company the size of RR there is only so much responsibility you can realistically expect but I was happy with the responsibility I was given during my placement. Writing documents for external sources, communicating with external machine shops & test houses and reporting on project progress to project leads on behalf of my team are some examples of this.

Having previously worked in engineering before this internship, I've definitely build on my existing skills I picked up. Teamwork, communication and attention to detail are all crucial skills I've developed this summer. Technically, my excel skills have certainly been brushed up on also! Most of all I've gained an appreciation for how things "get done" in a firm as large as RR. Finally, my knowledge of general engineering, particularly manufacturing methods and material choices has also been built on in an industrial environment.

I was based in a large open plan of ~120ish people all working in different areas. Certain "pods" were more sociable than others although the office atmosphere was generally ok.

When we (interns) first arrived we found the login details for various HR and online learning resources weren't actually working and so had to get them all reset manually. Some were also waiting almost a week for laptops which is quite a chunk of a 10 week placement.

I was able to visit other RR sites in Derby such as Aero Repair & Overhaul and the Turbine Blade Facility, as well as RR sites across the country such as Sunderland, Annesley and the new UK Discs manufacturing facility. I wasn't given much in the way of formal training but only being there for 10 weeks this is hardly surprising.

I'd definitely consider returning to RR on the Grad Development Programme is offered a place. The major benefit of internships in RR is that if you perform well and are keen to return there are no further assessments between internship and a GDP offer. I should know by the end of the month whether I've been offered a position, fingers crossed!

Interns all ate lunch together and chatted throughout the day in my open plan as there were ~8 interns/YINI's. I organised a quad biking trip for us all and some colleagues during our last week but other than that there weren't really any social activities linked to work.

I opted not to live in halls as not being a driver I didn't want to have to rely on someone else to get me to work. I paid £290/month to live in Morningside Close, Shelton Lock which is about a 10 minute walk to the LDC and about 35 minutes to Rotatives through gate 9. Halls (Lonsdale Court) cost £95 a week all in which is where the majority of interns were based over the summer. Costs of socialising were pretty similar to any city.

As above, nightlife was fairly standard for any city. There are the usual haunts like revs and Pitcher & Piano. Nottingham is also a 30 minute/£5 bus journey away.

There is a subsidised company gym which I think was about £40/month, there's also the association of grads and apprentices (AGA) who run a few events a year. There are also sports teams like Rugby and 5-a-side that train as part of RR.