I chose to attend º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ thanks to its extensive academic facilities and research specialisms which aligned with my personal interests and career goals.
I would whole-heartedly recommend pursuing a placement as part of your degree. The variety and importance of hard and soft skills you develop cannot be understated and will prove invaluable during your capstone project. It also adds significant weight to your CV when applying for a postgraduate degree or graduate job.
I spent my placement working as a Product Design Engineer for Bosch Lawn and Garden Ltd. The biggest benefit of working at Bosch Lawn and Garden was the supportive community of staff who were always on-hand to give advice and help you succeed. Although daunting at first, interns were treated as equals with real responsibilities on major projects. Line managers are stakeholders in intern success, so there is a genuine interest in your development and output.
During my time at Bosch I partook in the research, design, rapid prototyping, and testing of new power-tools for international retail. Novel solutions were validated on proprietary test rigs which benchmarked their performance against international standards and competing products. I also oversaw the implementation of new teardown-based analysis techniques on site.
Some days would be spent in the office working on CAD and benchmarking the project’s performance against international standards, whilst otherwise would be spent in the workshop and labs building, wiring, and testing a range of mid-fidelity prototypes. Occasionally, I would be out field-testing equipment in representative operating conditions.
Meetings with international stakeholders occurred daily, and every few weeks I would lead my own catch-up sessions to discuss progress on the projects that I oversaw.
I started my placement unsure of whether I even wanted to work in industry. However, my time at Bosch has inspired me to pursue a career in consumer electronics with a focus on design’s more technical facets. However, before returning to industry, I have decided to pursue a Masters degree in Product Design Engineering to better my understanding of the complex innovation, quality-control, and manufacturing practices that make companies like Bosch so successful.
I would whole-heartedly recommend pursuing a placement as part of your degree. The variety and importance of hard and soft skills you develop cannot be understated and will prove invaluable during your capstone project. It also adds significant weight to your CV when applying for a postgraduate degree or graduate job.