The EIP Experience; An Introduction

Author: Joseph -

Hi, my name is Joseph and I am a 4^th year Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineer (IMEE). Over the coming months I hope to explain to you about my work on the External Integrated Project (EIP) scheme at the University of Bath, which will count towards my undergraduate degree.

EIP scheme at a glance

The EIP scheme at Bath runs alongside the Group Business Design Project (GBDP) in the second semester of the 3^rd year of academic study for all Mechanical and IMEE Engineers; the difference being, the EIP scheme is carried out in industry whereas the GDBP is carried out in small teams on campus.

I am one of four lucky EIP students to be working for Rolls-Royce Aerospace Defence in Bristol, but there are 14 EIP students in total, spread out across many different industries from charitable organisations such as Eat Move Glow, to large multinationals such as Rolls-Royce and Airbus, to cutting edge facilities like CERN.

Of the EIP schemes, I believe that the Rolls-Royce opportunity is the most longstanding, with the greatest number of EIP students per annum. I hope that this blog post – and posts to follow – will give you some insight into the daily routine at Rolls-Royce and the amazing opportunities that are available to us. It might even inspire younger engineers at Bath to apply to the EIP scheme when they reach the correct stage of their degree course.

At the time of writing I am over two months into the six-month scheme and I now feel I can give you an honest rendition of all aspects of the project including university requirements, expected deliverables to Rolls-Royce and the ‘ins and outs’ of working in industry including the mundane, but equally important factors, such as the commute and options at the canteen!

I should point out that whilst the GBDP runs from February to May, EIP students are expected to work throughout the summer, with final University deadlines and contracts expiring at the end of August. This said, as per all industrial placements, there is annual leave, which if anything, provides us with greater flexibility with regards to holidays than the University calendar does. Moreover, in essence, we have already achieved a summer internship which is not only a major boost for our CV, it also saves us the time-consuming task of applying for jobs during the long summer break.

Although we are expected to work at the Rolls-Royce Bristol site from Monday to Friday, university requirement dictates that our project must be supervised by an academic based on campus. I have found academic supervision to be immensely helpful and a fantastic means of reminding myself that I am a student. Everybody at Rolls-Royce is very aware of the EIP scheme and the associated requirements, and my supervisor has no qualms with me taking time out of the office to work from campus and meet up with my supervisor (more on this in the next blog post).

The perks of working for Rolls-Royce

Although I worked for a similarly large, multinational, oil company, NOV, during my placement year in 2016/17, I was pleasantly surprised by the community ethos, vision and loyalty of all the employees at Rolls-Royce. Our induction process included a global orientation day at the Rolls-Royce headquarters in Derby, which was a great opportunity to learn more about the brand and the worldwide reach of the company. Within a week of starting I was well versed in company policy and ready to get to work on my assigned project.

Given the military application of all technologies developed at the Rolls-Royce Bristol site, I am unable to provide detailed description of the project I am working on. Although at times this can be frustrating, I have found that the EIP at Rolls Royce has been amazing learning curve with a very different pace and feel to project work at the University. Even in the first few months I really value everything I have learned with regards to sensitive IP, export control and release of classified information, but more on that next time…

Design Exhibition Wednesday 30th May

Be sure to find all four of the Rolls-Royce EIP students (myself included!) at the upcoming Bath Design Exhibition on Wednesday 30th May. We're looking forward to manning a stand and explaining all aspects of the EIP scheme. Moreover, it will be a fabulous opportunity to touch base with our peers at University and explore all of the projects they have been working on over the last few months.  I hope you're as excited as I am!