THE CAMBRIDGE ENGINEER Meet The Committee Society Zoo Find Igor!
And much, much more...
FRESHERS EDITION
MAIN SPONSORS
ASSOCIATE SPONSORS
CONTENTS 3 4 5 10
Editorial Presidents Welcome Meet the Committee Societies Zoo: CUAV CUER CUSF Full Blue EWB 20 Dear Freshers 21 Industrial Experience 22 Find Igor! 23 Proving Ground
Editorial Jack Struthers, Tafara Makuni magazine@cuengineeringsociety.org.uk
Cover Photo: Phil Catton - Spooky Contents Photo: Martin Knoebel - Blade
Disclaimer The material contained in this magazine represent views of the respective authors and not necessarily those of CUES or the organisations referred to. No material in this magazine can be reproduced partly or wholly without obtaining permission of the respective authors and/or organisations concerned. While we try to maintain accuracy and prevent misrepresentation of information, CUES or any of its members will not accept any responsibility for errors and omissions. The Cambridge Engineer is Copyright Cambridge University Engineering Society (CUES) 2014
EDITORIAL Hello freshers and welcome to the latest edition of the (probably) world renowned Cambridge Engineer! This year brought to you by us, the dream team, Jack and Tafara, double trouble, the next best thing to come out of the Cambridge Engineering Department since the Innocent Smoothie guys and Frank Whittle.
In the first edition of the year, curated by Jack, we explain what CUES do, who we are, and why you shoud be happy to have forked out a small donation for lifelong membership (other than that cool membership card). You also get to meet the Engineering societies in the Society Zoo, read a pep talk from our eloquent Industrial Coordinator Igor Wowk, and find out about a real life CUES student’s actual industrial experience. If all this just isn’t enough, then don’t fret! The Michaelmas edition, curated by Tafara, is just around the corner. It’ll be filled with even more amazing articles including contributions from our sponsors, all of which are listed on the contents page.
More importantly, the next few editions will be filled with articles and stories from you. These are what this magazine thrives on, so if you have an idea and fancy a write then get in contact! We will welcome any contribution as long as it is engineering related. Our email is on the back cover so no excuses. Anyway, plugging aside, welcome to Cambridge! You are about to start what will probably be the best years of your lives; mainly thanks to all the great events that CUES will be running. These are laid out on the next page by Mihir, this years CUES president. We hope you enjoy the magazine, and we’ll see you around the department soon. Best Wishes, Jack and Tafara CUES Magazine Editors 2014-15
PRESIDENTS WELCOME Welcome to the Cambridge University Engineering Department and to the start of four incredible years here!
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the Cambridge University Engineering Society (CUES) to you and explain what we do. The society’s activities can be split into social and engineering events. Socials include events such as the Freshers’ mixer where you can meet all the other students at your course, a Christmas Dinner, an Annual dinner (both black tie). In terms of engineering events, we run lunchtime presentations about twice a week where companies come to department to talk about employment opportunities and what they do. These presentations are generally very popular as they are both interesting and involve a free lunch! Additionally, we run trips to the space center and various local companies and host our very own CUES careers fair on the 20th October.
This year we hope to improve and diversify the events we offer. We are running a CUES trip to Munich. The trip will combine relaxation and tourism in Munich with visits to engineering attractions in the area and will be heavily subsidized by the society. We also hope to host a couple of workshops run by our sponsors on various technologies. On the socials side, we plan to run more frequent, informal nights out with engineers. So keep an eye out for our email bulletins and posters informing you about what is going on at CUES! We hope to see you at our events and wish you the best of luck for your journey ahead. Best Wishes,
Mihir Bhushan CUES President 2014-15
INTRODUCING THE COMM
Read on to find out a little bit more about the hard-working, admin machines that make a PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT Mihir Bhushan
Helen Sheehan
Third Year INFORMATION AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING Sidney Sussex What is your favourite example of great engineering? Bluetooth. Everything is better with Bluetooth. If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? I would be a Mango so I could grow up somewhere tropical and interesting. Describe yourself in 5 words. Dench denchnificent denchtastic denchable, denchmazing
What is your best engineering department experience? Trialling a friend’s fourth year project that happened to be a 3 wheeled car
SECRETARY
Third Year MECHANICAL Sidney Sussex
What is your favourite example of great engineering? ITER project, cos it’s pretty advanced engineering and might really help solve the energy crisis
If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? A pineapple. It looks like a head with frizzy hair, i.e. me Describe yourself in 5 words. Short, liverpudlian, chilled, geeky, happy
What is your best engineering department experience? Finishing IDP. Such a slog.
JUNIOR TREASURER Laura Andrews
Second Year STILL GENERAL... St. Johns
Kai Yu Tan
Fourth Year AEROSPACE AND AEROTHERMAL Jesus
What is your favourite example of great engineering? Laser eye surgery - Maybe one day I won’t have to pretend I don’t wear glasses…
What is your favourite example of great engineering? Airplane. Without airplane, there won’t be globalization.
Describe yourself in 5 words. Cinderella - I leave cindies at 12.
Describe yourself in 5 words. crazy, greedy, curious, fun, warm
If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Strawberry - everyone likes strawberries!!!
What is your best engineering department experience? Finishing the last exam of first year to be sprayed in champagne.
If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Mango. Just because that is my favorite fruit.
What is your best engineering department experience? The best experience would be getting to know many like-minded and cool people in the engineering department over the past 3 years.
MITTEE
all of the great CUES events happen EVENTS OFFICERS Charlotte Murphy
Third Year CIVIL ENGINEERING Girton What is your favourite example of great engineering? Concord - It was a foot longer when it was flying as it got so hot! If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Tangerine, because it’s sweet like me. Describe yourself in 5 words. Happy, enthusiastic, focused, fun, bridgy.
What is your best engineering department experience? Hearing Westlife’s ‘Flying without wings’ on the radio we build in IEP. It worked! Woop woop!
PUBLICITY OFFICERS
Milad Mehrabanifard Second Year STILL GENERAL... Christs
What is your favourite example of great engineering? The Bugatti Veyron. There is nothing nearly as therapeutic as getting in to a hot ride after a bad day at work and stomping on the go pedal. If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Orange, because it’s juicy, sweet and also good source of vitamin C. Describe yourself in 5 words. Ambitious, Forgetful, hyper, friendly, sometimes shy
What is your best engineering department experience? I managed to drill my lab partner’s finger during structural design project. It wasn’t deliberate though.
Faizan Qureshi
Miles Fan
Third Year ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION Christs What is your favourite example of great engineering? The genetic engineering of Milad Mehrabanifard - CUES coverboy?? If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Probably a Milad, because they look and taste delicious Describe yourself in 5 words. Milad, Mehrabanifard, Engineer, Sick, Don
What is your best engineering department experience? Sitting in first year drawing for 5 hours on a Friday, so so thrilling!!!!
Third Year SYSTEMS AND CONTROL Emma What is your favourite example of great engineering? Defence Engineering, an entire industry built on the efficiency of a single function.
If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Watermelon - in every country from Iran to Mongolia, they are being sold at the side of the road in their thousands. They are very good ammunition to be thrown back from car to car when bored in the desert. Describe yourself in 5 words. Always ready for an adventure.
What is your best engineering department experience? Saving 290 pounds by making a sump guard for my car in the workshop instead of buying one.
PRESENTATIONS OFFICERS Alex White
Third Year BIOENGINEERING Sidney Sussex What is your favourite example of great engineering? The Saturn V rocket – it never ceases to amaze me how such a complex machine took us to the Moon only half a century after we first learned how to fly. If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? A banana, because it’s a very well-engineered fruit. Describe yourself in 5 words. Nerd, loyal, sideburns, amusing, debonair.
What is your best engineering department experience? (Strangely!) The IDP project during second year – it was fairly intense at times but turned out to be really good fun overall.
Maximillian Schinke Second Year STILL GENERAL... Peterhouse
What is your favourite example of great engineering? Burj Khalifa - a masterpiece of engineering comprising material science, statics, thermofluids, electronics etc. If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Mango - no idea why. Describe yourself in 5 words. Let’s just try it.
What is your best engineering department experience? Building a bridge with an unsual design but a great performance
SOCIAL SECRETARIES
Richard Ollington
Sarah Barrington
Third Year MECHANICAL Pembroke
What is your favourite example of great engineering? The air conditioning machine in LT0, lol jks
If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Apple - I’d Appley make bad puns for the rest of my life (spelling mistake is on purpose) Describe yourself in 5 words. Hash Tag Pemgineer Back Row
What is your best engineering department experience? Moving around the useless EITL staircase chair with the “do not move” sign and have no one move it back to its “proper” place
Third Year MET Newnham
What is your favourite example of great engineering? CUER Solar Car because it’s awesome and made by some really cool members of CUED
If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? I’d be a passionfruit because I’m totally passionate about engineering!!!!!!!!! Describe yourself in 5 words. very big name on campus
What is your best engineering department experience? Not appropriate for this magazine, but lets just say I will never look at the DPO the same way again.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT CUES GET UP TO AND www.cuengineeri
MAGAZINE EDITORS Tafara Makuni
Second Year PhD AERONAUTICS Magdalene
What is your favourite example of great engineering? A380 – it’s like a giant whale in the sky.
If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? The annoying orange (Google it) because I think he has great banter. Describe yourself in 5 words. Erm...
What is your best engineering department experience? Jumping into the courtyard fountain after exams.
Jack Struthers
Fourth Year AEROSPACE AND AEROTHERMAL Homerton What is your favourite example of great engineering? The bicycle. In case you hadn’t heard yet, Homertons so far away it’s practically in another country. If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? It doesn’t matter - my dreams would always come to fruit-ion. Describe yourself in 5 words. Best Magazine Editor Except Tafara.
What is your best engineering department experience? Standard credit. Enjoy it while you can...
WEBMASTER Peter Birch
Third Year ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION Sidney Sussex What is your favourite example of great engineering? The amazing and relentless miniaturisation of electronic devices that can out-perform systems of 10 times the size only a few years before. If you could be a fruit, what would you be and why? Lemon - bitter admittedly, but makes a fantastic addition to many drinks and foods. Also you can make batteries from it... Describe yourself in 5 words. Engineer, programmer, designer, creator, destroyer
What is your best engineering department experience? Finishing second year and realising I never need to do structures or mechanics ever again.
D HOW TO GET IN CONTACT, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: ingsociety.org.uk
I discovered
it’s the
little things
thAT
really count
At BP there are no small jobs. So when we shut down our Kwinana refinery for maintenance, I had the big challenge of ensuring that more piping joints than we‘d ever opened up before were inspected and repaired or replaced. Ben Kwan, Engineering, Kwinana, Australia
What will you discover? At BP, we offer the most exciting and challenging global opportunities for high performing graduates in engineering, science, business and trading.
Search for BP Careers
SOCIETIES ZOO WIthin the Engineering department there are many societies for you to get involved in. They can provide you with some great opportunities - from racing a solar-powered car across Australia to launching a teddy bear into space. Over the next few pages, you can read about what’s on offer and how to get involved.
Cambridge Autonomous Underwater Vehicle The Cambridge Autonomous Underwater Vehicle team develop, design & manufacture general-purpose Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for science & exploration. The submarines are designed to operate in shallow water (<80m), performing a variety of underwater autonomous tasks. The team is principally composed of Cambridge University students, who work on all aspects of the mechanical, electronic & software design of the AUVs.
With the project founded in 2006, four unique AUVs have been designed & built to date. Our current AUV (‘Barracuda’) was completed in July 2012, and is currently undergoing improvments. The team competes in the annual Students Autonomous Underwater Challenge – Europe (SAUC-E) competition, which is currently hosted in La Spezia, Italy. The project also has a longer term goal to aid academic research underneath Arctic ice sheets, for which bore-hole deployment of an AUV would significantly help research efforts.
To see how you can get involved, meet the team at the freshers fair or visit our website, www.cambridgeauv.co.uk
Cambridge University Eco Racing
CUER is one of the very few solar racing teams in the UK. Read on to find out what they get up to and how you can get involved. Cambridge University Eco Racing is one of the very few solar racing teams in the UK. a 60 strong student organisation that designs, build and races solar powered vehicles. We are a not-for-profit organisation that is mainly funded through corporate sponsorship and private support. Since our founding in 2007, we have been the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s number one for solar vehicle development.
Over the course of a two-year cycle, we design and build ground breaking solar vehicles which compete in the World Solar Challenge â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a 3000 km endurance race across the Australian outback. This competition is the pinnacle of solar motorsport, we compete against teams from around the world and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re racing to win.
The design of a solar-powered racing car demands innovation, imagination and dedication. These vehicles showcase the incredible potential of high-efficiency, low-carbon automotive technology. Our team of over sixty students works to combine aerodynamics, structures, mechanics, materials, electronics, software, telemetry and manufacturing; creating never-before-seen solutions to an extreme engineering challenge. Alongside our technical arm, we have a brilliant business team, which devotes itself to sponsorship, media, recruitment, PR, events and outreach on a national and international level. Together they build and foster relationships with companies worldwide to ensure we have the funding
and technical support we need to complete our challenge.
Last year the team produced a revolutionary new vehicle concept, Resolution, which promised to be a strong contender in the competition. Unfortunately 2013 wasn’t our year, however we’re bouncing back for 2015 with an improved design and manufacturing process which means there’s never been a better time to join the team! We’re a diverse group of students and anyone is welcome, whether you’re a first-year undergraduate or a third-year Ph.D. student studying anything from Theoretical Physics to Geography we have a place for you. We have great links with both industry and academia, and no matter what aspect of the project you’re interested in there’s sure to be a job for you.
To find out more just visit www.cuer.co.uk or drop us an email at captain@cuer.co.uk
http://www.cusf.co.uk/! contact@cusf.co.uk/ !
!
cuspaceďŹ&#x201A;ight!
on Flickr, GitHub, YT, Vimeo & Twitter
We've launched meteorological balloons to over 36km,! high powered rockets to 11km, collaborated with the European Space Agency, and created software used by space agencies around the world every day.
Since 2006 CU Spaceflight have been working on a variety of projects under the general banner of “space”, from high altitude ballooning to high powered rocketry. We’re a student society, mostly engineering undergraduates, organised into small-to-medium sized teams, each working on projects that interest them. !
!
Martlet 1, pictured across the page, was a £11k, two stage (class N/M), 4 metre tall rocket launched from Scotland in 2012–almost breaking the UK hobbyist altitude record. Check out the videos (with footage from the launch rail itself) at http://vimeo.com/cuspaceflight. By the time you’ve read this, we’ll hopefully have launched its successor from Black Rock Desert, Nevada.!
!
In 2011 we worked for the European Space Agency testing Mars lander parachutes from high speed, high altitude drop vehicles, also including a helicopter test. Last year we successfully test-fired our hybrid nitrous-sugar rocket motor and a rocket with thrustvectoring (amongst many other things!). The photo below was taken from one of our high altitude balloons, which have also hoisted teddy-bears stuffed with temperature probes into the stratosphere as part of a primary school outreach project, and our open source balloon flight predictor software is run thousands of times every day by people worldwide.!
!
We're always excited to meet new people, especially if you're interested in space, rocketry, electronics, programming or cool basement labs! Find us at the freshers fair, come to our squash, or look out for us at the dedicated lecture slot for societies.!
!
full blue racing
Design. Build. Race. The Ultimate Team Challenge.
fullblueracing.co.uk/register /fullblueracing
@fullblueracing w: fullblueracing.co.uk
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WE LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK Internship and graduate opportunities in: Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Commercial, Customer Management & Services, Purchasing, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Finance, Health, Safety & Environment, Project Management or Human Resources.
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Trusted to deliver excellence
Engineers Without Borders Cambridge is a student-run charity and a branch of EWB UK based in the University’s Engineering Department. We are focused on international development and our aim is to help members learn more about poverty alleviation and impart practical skills that will prove to be beneficial in future endeavours!
Talks Team
The Talks team is responsible for organising talks related to international development issues and solutions throughout the year. We invite a wide range of speakers from university academics to professionals working in the industry or in international organisations. Past talks include “Renewable Energy Solutions for the Developing World,” which had speakers such as Dr. Simon Bransfield- Garth, CEO of Azuri Technologies Ltd., as well as collaborations with other societies like ISF and IEEE. This year we will have more talks, on a wide range of topics - from rural and urban development, water and sanitation, environmental sustainability, technology and infrastructure, emergency aid – something for all interests!
Outreach Team
The Outreach team works with volunteers to run workshops in primary schools and youth organizations in the Cambridge area. Our workshops target key issues in the developing world from water scarcity and sustainability to power distribution and the importance of renewable energy. By informing and educating young people about these issues we hope to raise awareness of international development and the useful application of science for the direct benefit of human development while getting them more interested in STEM subjects.
Trainings Team
The trainings team is dedicated to organising events and providing material that prepares people for work in all different areas of engineering. As well as working with the talks team, we organise courses in practical field skills - from pipeline design to concrete mixing - and site visits such as trips to the local recycling plant. In the coming year we hope to continue with this work as well as setting up a broader range of courses, a conference on medical engineering in developing countries and more work with similar organisations such as RedRUK and Ecohouse.
To find out more, please visit our website www.ewb-cam.org/ho
EWB Cambridge is dedicated to initiating activities such as lectures, training courses, outreach events and student-led projects. There are several events every term and fantastic opportunities to not only participate but also to get involved in organising and joining the committee!
Member Led International Partnership Members of EWB have the chance to lead International Development work through the Member-Led International Partnership (MLP) scheme. This is an amazing opportunity to actively make a difference and see your ideas become reality. EWB is very supportive and has a strong network of international partners and experienced past volunteers, members with deep knowledge of engineering and technology, contacts with UK academia and companies, and an enormous passion for overcoming global challenges of poverty and development. Therefore, if you have a good idea, you are very welcome to get in touch with us and we can offer our support. EWB Cambridge has just started an international project called The Cambridge Tabadol Project aiming to partner with university students in the Arab World and therefore establish there a youth-led STEM outreach programme for schools. The reason for this project is the fact that, despite the Levant’s youth having some of the region’s most sought-after talents, many regional employers complain about the lack of practical skills amongst applicants who have studied STEM subjects at University. This is where the Cambridge Tabadol
project comes. Tabadol means ‘exchange’ or ‘partnership’ in Arabic, and so the aim of the project is to build a network of motivated students who could deliver workshops in local schools thereby imparting the necessary practical, creative and critical thinking skills, through the spirit of a friendly exchange. In order to achieve these goals, some Cambridge students will go to Amman (Jordan) in December and run the Tabadol week. Through meetings and informal chats, they will get to know Arab engineering students and this collaboration will finally start. If you are interested in joining the project or want to know more, visit our website (www.camtabadol.org) or just send an email to mg652@cam.ac.uk... there is much work to do and some help would be very welcome!
ome or our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EWBcambridge
LOOKING FOR A CAREER, NOT JUST A JOB? APPLY NOW AND BE INSPIRED. WE ARE LOOKING FOR STEM STUDENTS TO JOIN US AS: 路 TECHNICAL DELIVERY GRADUATES 路 CONSULTING GRADUATES 路 ELECTRONIC ENGINEERS
For more details please visit: www.baesystems.com/emergingtalent
DEAR FRESHERS Congratulations and welcome, that’s how they all start isn’t it. Well done, give yourself a pat on the back. Well ITS A TRAP. Engineering is really hard and at some point during your degree this will probably make you cry. If you are reading this you are probably an engineering fresher. ( If you are reading this and you are not at least an engineer or a fresher, why?) yet I’m pretty sure none of you actually know what engineering is. I certainly didn’t so I looked it up: The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines engineering “the application of science to the optimum conversion of the resources of nature to the uses of humankind”. That’s all very well but it isn’t really why I or, I would hope, most of you applied to study engineering.
I wanted to study engineering so that I could build an evil robot army to take over the world. Then I started my degree and I realised that building a robot army would be really hard. So it looks like I’m going to go and become just another engineer in an office somewhere muttering about how much easier the job would be if we could assume that our customers where massless sheers and blaming the whole mess vaguely on “marketing”. But it turns out that despite what you may think the rest of the world quite likes engineers, or at least the cool stuff we keep making for them, urban dictionary says that an engineer is “a kick-ass uber-genius with godly math and science abilities, the training for which being at the expense of those abilities for spelling and talking to members of the opposite sex.” I was never any good at the last two anyway so maybe just being another engineer isn’t so bad but if any one is interested in some kind of evil robot army society get in touch.
I’ve got the hair I just need the evil robot army
Ruairidh C-
Look out for more engineering insights from Ruairidh in the next few issues, or watch his unique brand of stand-up in one of Cambridge’s many venues.
INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE Our resident industial experience co-ordinator IGOR WOWK explains why experience is so important, how the CUED requirements work and what he can do to help. First of all welcome to Cambridge University Engineering Department ( CUED ) . At CUED “Industrial Experience” is an important part of the course, it is also a very big operation. The 8 week requirement equates to one whole term and it is obligatory. You cannot achieve Honours in Year 2 or Year 3 without successful completion. Many other Universities suggest that it is a “good idea” or “desirable”, CUED go beyond that by making it compulsory such is the value that we give to it. Furthermore, the fact that every year between 560 – 600 students undertake an Engineering related industrial placement or “internship” of one sort another, shows the value that many of our students attach to gaining additional experience at various work places all over the globe. Additionally, surveys show that employers value it highly when it comes to offering full time employment at graduation time. Organisations seek employees with a good understanding of business, relationships at work, project management and communication skills, all of which our students develop whilst on placement. Engineering is not just about maths and physics, it is about finding solutions to problems and making them work within a financial budget. The equation is this: Your studies + practical experience = an ideal candidate for any professional engineering position or virtually any professional career beyond engineering. We have even had 3 students in recent years transfer to Medical training to become Doctors using this combination.
With an influx every year of 300+ students and only myself and one part time staff member to make up the “Placements Team” there are many of you and few of us. However we like to think that we have a system here that copes effectively with that situation, and takes account of your busy timetable, however it does mean that the onus of seeking a placement falls firmly with the individual student. We have a programme of talks, information available via a website, a database and other tools at our disposal. We are also happy to talk to individual students regarding any matters connected to Industrial Experience at virtually any convenient time. Students will need to become adept at familiarizing themselves with the requirements, deciding a strategy and tactics, presenting themselves, and finding potential sources of placements, and you will quickly need to become familiar with how the system operates to take maximum advantage.
We can give you advice on all this stuff. However you need to realise that you must move on quickly from being school kids to adults who take responsibility for their own future development heading towards professional status with all the challenges and rewards that entails.
You will find that the CUED Requirements are very flexible in terms of what you can do and where you do it, as long as the work is related to some element of engineering taught on the course, and many students utilise their own contacts that they have developed via various networks to find a suitable place. However, to assist you we have a well devised web site with information and advice on planning, presenting, yourself and an abundance of contacts available via the CUED database CHOICE. Currently we hold nearly 3000 employer records, for you to look at. You can either approach employers speculatively yourself or wait until we receive a “Live” job offer from them. You will receive a weekly bulletin telling you when opportunities become active. You need to remember that this is a competitive environment, your colleagues and students from other universities will be after the same positions as you, however you will develop vital communication & negotiation skills through your increased knowledge of the employment market and how it works. Towards Year 3 most students are pretty self-sufficient and know the ropes. Finally I should point out that we are not just orientated towards “companies”, I am proud to say that we also run a circa 50+ place research scheme in the Department called UROP, which is aimed at students later in the course to explore the possibilities of a career in research. I look forward to working with you over the coming years of your stay at the Department of Engineering. Igor WOWK
Industrial Placement Co-ordinator CUED
FIND IGOR! IGOR WOWK is always happy to talk to you about anything and everything to do with placements. However, in the maze that is the Engineering Department he is hard to find! Luckily thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a handy picture guide to help you on your way...
Start from the Main Foyer
Take main stairs or the lift to 2nd Floor
Head along 2nd Floor corridor Through the magic door near the common rooms
Up the stairway to heaven Room BC 3-07
Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find a nice comfy chair waiting for you!
PROVING GROUND A CUED Engineer recounts his experience in finding a first year industrial placement at Milbrook Proving Ground, what he got up to, and how it was very different to what he expected.
O
n learning of the Industrial Experience requirement for the course I was struck with tedium rather than excitement at the prospect of eight more weeks of work like those I had done over the past few years. If the reader will bear with me I might be able to provide some hope and insight into their prospective placements in the coming year for my work at Millbrook Proving Ground proved to be a good deal better than I had expected.
I think my CV must have been particularly unattractive because I had spent the entirety of Lent term sending off job applications to no avail and so it was with some alacrity that I seized the offer of work at Millbrook Proving Ground. I was especially surprised at this having come across as a complete ass in the interview, but with good reason: there was plenty of work to be done by engineering undergraduates. After a couple of short weeks of relaxation after the end of exams I settled down to the nine-to-five with the added bonus of a one hour commute each way.
Millbrook is an automotive engineering metropolis and works on military, public transport and police vehicles in addition to doing every kind of testing you can think of on cars and commercial vehicles. It’s one of the largest facilities in Europe and the site was custom built for the purpose with steep slopes, cobbled roads, emissions testing labs, temperature-controlled rooms, workshops and far more that I didn’t get the chance to see. I think that there can be few places that do such a wide variety of work on one site. It had been my impression that the only reason that a company would take a student for work experience was because there was menial work for which it was not worth expending the time or money of a regular employee to complete. This, after all, had been the sum total of my previous experience. I was, then, pleasantly surprised to find that I was given the task of designing a ‘braking robot’ – a robot that depresses the brake pedal of a car in a programmable way for EU safety tests – not because it was especially boring but because
there weren’t many people in the company who were happy to do any programming. It was certainly a surprise for me to end up programming for five weeks when I had been expecting a mechanically based, hands-on assignment.
Millbrook seemed especially busy while I was there with emissions testing of buses seeming to take up the majority of the time of most people I saw. Those of us on placements had self-contained, one-man projects and so we were somewhat detached from the hectic routine of the company, but also from each other seeing as we were tucked into any available desk anywhere in the building. There was always someone to report to, but I had a relatively free-rein to develop the project as I saw fit and whilst I worked to develop software to allow existing parts to be used to finish the job I also discussed the merits of making a new system in-house or having it built. It was ultimately decided to have it made externally and so a great deal of work was removed from my project, giving me the opportunity to finish my placement after only five weeks.
Millbrook itself is a very interesting place and far better than a small office on a science park. Everyone gets a tour on their first day and I went round the high-speed bowl, down the Alpine handling course (scene of the Casino Royale car chase) and around the off-road
circuit where they have a one-in-one slope which I was lucky enough not to go up. The crash-testing lab had a particularly beautiful sports car about to be run into a lamp-post. There were many cars that came and went covered in disruptive paint schemes so that competitors couldn’t see a manufacturer’s latest designs. Back in my world of a laptop in the corner of an office I found it quite easy to forget what a peculiar place it was. To summarise my first-year placement experience I would draw a handful of conclusions which might be useful to a Fresher. Make use of the Industrial Experience team’s e-mails. Try to get some experience in a field of engineering you haven’t seen before; I’ve turned from a civil to an electrical engineer in the past two years. Lastly, the experience of a project from start to finish and the business method is far more valuable than the programming language you may have learnt.
P.S. The MD said to me that he’s very keen for more Cambridge students to come and work at Millbrook.
Images are courtesy of Millbrook Proving Ground
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