Undergraduate Engineer Review

Two out of five days in the week we have 'study', either lectures, seminars,lab work or self study work. the other three days are typically in a workplace placement, we have three rotations a year in various teams to get a wide overview of the company this helps us to choose what area to specialize and means we are well rounded and understand how different areas in the business interact with one another. Although it differs within each team you normally have weekly check-ins with a manager or mentor about your project.

I have completed several safety courses internally and some with external providers, 'manual handling', 'electrical safety', 'COSHH training' just to name a few. I have also developed several skills using software for example Matlab, Nova for audio recordings, 'COMSOL multi physics'. I have also developed a lot of soft skills for example communications skill during end of rotation presentations, also reporting writing skills as the reports for projects are critical and distributed to wider teams so reflect on your work. I have also learnt a lot about working in a team and how to get across ideas effectively, also becoming a lot more confident in asking for help but sometimes trusting my own ability.

It depends on the rotation but overall I am thoroughly enjoying the program the work is exciting and challenging, it is even tougher to integrate into a team within the short time we have but I think that only further drives us to work hard to contribute as much as possible. The company culture is very good, I have been lucky to have the opportunity to have sit downs and career chats with several senior engineers who all have worked at Dyson for a long time and they all share the same values and opinions that is a good place to work where the employees are cared about. Work can sometimes be challenging to get up to speed as its difficult for the team to gauge pre existing knowledge as different people will know different amounts about each topic.

Team hierarchy and task delegation has been well organized in most teams I have worked in, I always try to make a point about understanding the structure of the team and how the flow of work works. The inductions and training was all provided well as part of the job as opposed to a single block at the start this was good as it could be more relevant to what you were doing at that moment however it meant sometimes waiting until you get the training to be able to do something, this was only an issues in the first few months. Studying is well supported and organized with transparent communication. Overall well organized but sometimes teams are not informed of extra study days or things are communicated last minute, this can sometimes be frustrating.

My manager and mentor are normally fairly involved with my work to a good level, not micromanaging but checking occasionally to make sure I am making good progress. Being part of team meetings mean you can get support from other people as well. HR teams are also always available and have been quick to sort any issue I have had in the past. The team at the Dyson institute themselves have a wonderful attitude towards support and it is a good atmosphere to feel comfortable in asking anyone for help.

A good level of support is provided and seems to be improving, more regular check-ins would be appreciated. Our tutor is always available and is prompt at replying to emails and questions, during meeting they are always very supportive and positive which is encouraging. Detailed documentation is available on everything we need to know and can be found easily, I enjoy writing up the rotations and I think its useful to reflect on the work I have done and celebrate the achievements and spot areas for development.

Some topics line up well with projects in the workplace however due to the nature of it and people working on different things at one time this does not always work out. I have had a few opportunities to put theory into practice particularity for some of the more versatile tools such as Matlab which I used in both mechanical rotations and also in software teams this felt good to be able to develop and I could feel myself becoming more confident.

The institute would normally organise sports events once a week available to everyone and that changed each week so was a good chance to try something different, obviously not on at the moment (COVID 19). These would take place at the gym on site so easily accessible. Many teams withing the workplace are also quite social, I had a team building trip with my first team on an activities day and a Christmas party with my most recent team. I take part in a few events open for the wider company as well such as touch rugby.

Yes

Its a great blend of work and study and I think working along side qualified engineers and professionals helps learning and development. The opportunities we get couldn't be easily found on other courses, being able to work on real projects and contribute to the company from the very start helps us gain a plethora of experiences and means we can have a more informed opinion on the sort of work we would like to do in future. The team is very passionate and the small cohort sizes means there is a good community.

Be prepared for hard work but also bear in mind its well worth it. Interviews are both technical and more people based so make sure to show teamwork and communication rather that trying to do it all yourself. Making the most out of every rotation is important even if it is just to rule out that area and decide that its not for you, that's just as useful as loving it and wanting to go back to that team.