Undergraduate Engineer Review

The week is spent split across both academic and workplace. Two days a week are designated for lectures/coursework content and the other three days are spent in the workplace working across a variety of teams to gain a better understanding of engineering. Tasks vary day to day from lab testing to results analysis.

Throughout the course I have learnt and developed lots of skills to match my apprenticeship standard. I have developed my presentation skills through end of project presentations to my team. Furthermore I have learnt how to program, from workplace training in Python and learning MATLAB as part of the academic programme and using it at work

I really enjoy the programme, particularly the workplace aspects as I get to learn a lot of things I wouldn't gain from the degree alone. The academics can be challenging but I enjoy learning a variety of engineering skills. The social side of the experience is also very enjoyable.

The overall course is well structured and usually clearly communicated. The use of managers and mentors in the workplace help to organise the workdays. There is sometimes a lack of communication regarding lectures and academic work from WMG which can make it a little difficult to know what lectures are happening.

The workplace line managers and mentors are a very useful point of contact for progressing with work and getting help when you are stuck. Our student support advisor is really good at listening to our concerns and helping us to tackle any problems that we are currently facing. Wellbeing days are a good opportunity to feel supported.

The lecturers are usually on hand to support with any queries regarding lectures or academic content. The apprenticeship tutor is there for guidance on our apprenticeship tracking with tripartite reviews in place so we can frequently review our work (although this does not always happen to schedule when they are not available)

Some of the academic work definitely contributes to knowledge needed for work (e.g. programming module was useful as a building block for programming at work). Some of the work is not covered by the lectures, mostly because it is in a more specified field, but the degree is definitely good for a base knowledge.

There are loads of opportunities to take part in activities for free or at a reduced price. There are regular night out buses to local cities and other events (for example, Thorpe Park trip and Longleat trip). There are several clubs and societies like volleyball, football, adventure society, surfing club

Yes

It is a really enjoyable experience and a great way to learn if you enjoy practical insights as well as academic content. The course can be challenging at times due to lots of work but it is definitely a worthwhile experience and very enjoyable with a great bunch of people.

Ensure to revise some Maths content prior to the assessment day as it will really help to answer questions during the interview part. Show a passion for engineering and show an active interest in the company by researching on both the Dyson and Dyson Institute website. Try to be yourself as it's not as scary as it seems