Product Design & Validation Placement Student Review
at Cummins
Placement (10 Months+)
Automotive Engineering, Product Design
Darlington
Review Submitted: May 2023
Overall Rating
4.4 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
3/5
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Overview of Role
4.8/5
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Skills Development
4/5
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Support and Guidance
4.5/5
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Company Culture
4.5/5
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Overall Experience
5/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
Supporting the Design & Validation teams with various tasks, incuding; Computer-Aided Design (CAD), data processing, report writing, and specialist software use. Interactions are usually within the two teams, however there are some internal interactions with other departments within the company. External interaction is rare. Responsible for supporting various projects simultaneously, while reporting to the project leader and colleagues with frequent progress updates.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
Given responsibility for urgent and time-sensitive tasks, but always supported by colleagues with frequent catch-up meetings and availability to connect when needed. Also occasionally tasked with independantly educating myself on processes that are unfamiliar to the teams, by finding support internally and using external resources, and then providing results and training to the rest of the teams.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
3/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
Learnt various hard and soft skills, the former being; training in specialised software (CAD, 3D printing, data management), as well as standard office programs (Teams, Outlook, Zoom, etc). Soft skills include bespoke training in; building relationships, communicating with senior people, developing your potential, difficult conversations, time management, and presenting.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
4/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
5/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
5/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
5/5
Support and Guidance
How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
Extensive support recieved from manager and colleagues, who are always more than happy to help with any questions and issues. Regular training was provided to help enhance existing knowledge and build upon formal training qualifications. Student mentor also appointed throughout the year, who was in a seperate department and could provide unbiased advice and support.
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
4/5
How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
4/5
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
Culture and atmosphere was excellent. Flexitime is available and company understands and supports individuals. Very welcoming experience and solid support structure for students. Opportunities to volunteer to local communitiy projects on company time.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
3/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
5/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
5/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
Overall, really enjoyed placement. Provided invaluable experience into working life, and given new motivation for returning to university next year. Found working from home difficult at times (personally, due to motivation and lack of sociability), however this did allow for incresed flexibility and work/life balance which was a massive positive.
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
4/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
5/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at Cummins
5/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Cummins to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to Cummins
Sounds cliché, but you really will get out of it what you put into it. There is constantly more work and experience to get invovled with, and colleagues will always make time to integrate you into this. Personally, part of me wishes I had chosen to live closer to site as it is much easier to learn and socialise rather than at home. However, the flexibility is excellent and working from home is a really great option too.
