Core exhaust engineer Review

Over the course of the placement I was involved in numerous projects where I made a valuable contribution to the research and development of products in the Powertrain department. The benefit of this was that I experienced all aspects of design and testing, in a technical engineering environment.

The core engineering team I was part of always involved me in projects where I could learn and develop new skills in areas of project management and design development. This combined with training in computational fluid dynamics allowed me to add value to projects and assist with the workload of the whole team.

From the moment I began my placement, I was given clear direction and objectives to complete over the course of the year, along with training/travel opportunities. This really helped with developing myself personally and technically whilst assisting with my career development within the automotive industry.

Since I was involved in numerous projects during the placement, this lead to a high workload which meant that I gained the most from my opportunity at Ford. I was constantly busy learning the Ford methodologies and best practices to contribute to the team. Along with many training opportunities which allowed me to take on more challenging R&D projects.

Overall I was given an significant responsibility within the team, that continued to increase due to my performance over the year in projects. I had involvement in creating and conducting test procedures, liaising with suppliers and working globally with the European and North American engineering teams.

The lessons learnt and experience I had within the automotive industry will significantly contribute to my degree and future career opportunities. From being trained in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of engineering systems, this has helped me technically with my dissertation which is in a similar field. Along with providing experience with an engineering tool which can be used in many engineering functions. The project management aspect of the placement will also assist in my career development, where working within a global team and managing your time is an important credential.

Everyone in my group and the wider team were welcoming and always had time to assist with questions or just to have a casual chat. Many group activities were organised outside of work, either with fellow interns or the team.

The internship was very well organised, as my manager had asked me what I wanted from the opportunity and we created objectives for me to complete over the year.

I attended numerous training events in house to develop my understanding of Ford practices and offsite at external training events where I developed my technical skills in engineering software tools.

As Ford are continuing to develop their brand and product portfolio within Europe as well as globally, the prospect of having a career with them is very appealing. Where I hope to acquire a graduate opportunity with them.

Yes as I lived in the same apartment complex and shared lifts to work with many of the interns this lead to a great social aspect of the placement. Additionally several events were organised with my colleagues.

Due to the proximity of Dunton technical centre to london, the prices of accommodation were reasonable and definitely affordable with our salary.

There are plenty of places to go eat and go out for drinks to suit everyone's tastes.

They were plenty of sport clubs to join, gyms for fitness or attractions in the local area to enjoy outside of work.