Here's how you can make a lasting impact during a manufacturing engineering internship.

Immerse yourself fully in the internship experience by actively participating in projects, team meetings, and learning opportunities. Demonstrate enthusiasm, initiative, and a willingness to learn from experienced professionals.

La participación activa es uno de los pilares más importante durante una pasantía dado que te conecta con las problemáticas y desafíos de la empresa, el poder aportar aunque sea un poco en esas oportunidades de mejora, te hacen resaltar como profesional.

Pay close attention to manufacturing processes, machinery operations, and problem-solving methods. Take notes on workflows, safety procedures, and quality standards observed during your internship to gain valuable insights.

This is a really interesting point. Many interns and entry level graduates have grown up in a digital age, which has made them very open to exploring new innovative technologies that have helped them in their personal lives. This mindset has transferred itself really nicely to interns and graduates bringing a modern view of what manufacturing could look like with an open and willing mind to explore new software packages, for example, that could help drive efficiency in the procurement process. With all the known challenges in manufacturing around a shortage of labour and retiring workforce, this eagerness to explore innovative solutions is key to the sustainability of the industry.

Propose innovative ideas or improvements based on your observations and knowledge. Collaborate with team members to implement practical solutions that enhance efficiency, reduce waste, or improve product quality.

Keep detailed records of your projects, tasks, and achievements throughout the internship. Documenting your work ensures clarity, facilitates knowledge transfer, and serves as valuable reference material for future projects or reports.

Even to this day, I end the week with a review email to myself that highlights key achievements, challenges and carry over work into next week. I used to write this email and send it to my bosses, but over time, they cared less (trusting I was doing a good job) so instead I decided to continue sending it to myself. I felt the habit was a good one - allowing me to end the week with a clear and honest reflection of myself.

Throughout the years, at the company that I worked for, one of the most obvious things are the new guys who think that taking over starts with them and it starts today. All of a sudden they are the new kids on the block and the new experts on everything. You will literally have the rest of your career to gain expertise and respect. Your new found education might be theoretically correct but in reality what has been working for this company may be far from what you have learned in your text books. Sometimes silence and observation garners more respect than a loud mouth. Also be ready and able to learn from those who are not engineers but have been there for many years and knows the systems better than some of the engineers. Make friends.

Take initiative in learning about different departments or aspects of manufacturing beyond your immediate responsibilities. Network with professionals in the field. Most important would be learn from experience of seniors obey them and take insights from them. Textbook knowledge does not help on field. Learn more from front line employees stay with them and keep continuous learning behavior.