Summer Internship Review

My Summer Internship was based in the engineering technical buildings over in London Heathrow Airport and comprised of mostly work shadowing different departments seeing how they all come together to help British Airways continue running their operations smoothly. My role was mainly technical so this was working and exploring more of the brains of the engineering operations specifically Base Maintenance and how they ensure that the fleet remains airworthy and preventing defects from becoming a dangerous consequences later on in their lifespan.

We were given a lot of control on what we wanted to do in the Engineering department and there was a lot of flexibility with what we wanted to do which was very convenient. We were able to get out of the internship what we really wanted whether that be hands on with the aircraft more or seeing what goes on behind the scenes. They made sure we always had something to do and that we were always constantly learning about the business. There was never two days which were the same! I got to experience other departments too such as London Gatwick Catering, Sustainability and many more departments making it such an exciting experience I shall never forget.

I was based over at Base Maintenance so I learnt quickly that Excel Sheets were mainly used to keep record of the maintenance of majority of aircrafts so I developed a lot of Excel skills in the process. Majority of systems at British Airways are quite dated so I got to learn a lot of the old software they utilised. Alongside this I developed a lot of presentation skills as I did a lot of project work presentations on research I conducted in different departments especially with the final presentation you partake in at the end of the internship.

We received a lot of support and guidance throughout the internship ensuring that we always had something to do every week. At the start of the internship it was normal to feel a bit lost as it was a new environment with a different style of how you'd normally work at university and new systems you would've never encountered before but after a couple of weeks I felt very integrated and very well settled into the business it was great to see not just in terms of work but with the staff community. Each and every staff made you feel supported and uplifted you in the right direction its such an amazing thing to encounter especially when you'd expect it to be quite daunting at first.

The company culture is amazing. One of the British Airways value is being an "Employee Centric" company and this means that they put their employees at the forefront of everything they do and I can clearly see this as an intern which is lovely to see. As my role entailed rotating in different departments most of the time I was working alongside a lot of different workers and it was so refreshing and heart-warming to get along with them so easily regardless of any differences we may have had. This is one of the sole reasons why I'd come back to work at British Airways in a heartbeat.

This internship has meant a lot to me. As an Aerospace Engineering student, to be working for an airline has given me a clear sense that this is the type of industry I want to come back and work for and it has opened my eyes up to the different departments which British Airways hold. There is a lot of opportunities at British Airways for diversifying to these different departments too and you aren't just constrained to working in one department for a long time. As people grow, expectations change and this really aids in being flexible and this is something I've grown to appreciate. Thanks to this internship, it has helped me strive towards the goal of building a long-term career with the airline as its such a wonderful environment to be in.

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