Empowering Tomorrow’s Workforce: Internship insights

As one of the world’s leading engineering companies we are always on the lookout for new talent in the engineering sphere. One of the best ways, to not only find emerging talent, but also nurture it; is through internships.??

In this article, we chat with Oliver Leggett - our TECOSIM summer intern. Oliver joined us through our collaboration with the Ogden Trust, spending four weeks with us.?

Having completed his internship, we caught up with him to discuss his time with us.??

What did it mean for you to be offered an internship at TECOSIM??

I was given many different options of companies to apply to, but TECOSIM was my top choice. When I received the email saying that I was given the internship I could not wait. I was incredibly happy to be given such a fantastic opportunity and was ready to enjoy every moment.?

My Sixth Form was the University Technical College Norfolk, and they introduced me to the Ogden Trust, this is where it all started and without them, I would not have had such a wonderful opportunity.?

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What motivated you to focus on researching alternative advancements in renewable fuel types for vehicle powertrains during your internship??

I have always had strong interest in knowing the how things will go in the future, so being able to research such an important topic, potential future fuels, really hooked me in. This really encouraged me to dive as deep as I could during my time at TECOSIM.?

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Have you always seen yourself pursuing a career in the energy sector??

I have never really known exactly what career path I want to follow. I knew that I wanted it to be within the engineering world and potentially within the energy sector. I do believe that this is a crucially important sector that will always has room for advancement.?

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How did your mentors, Kevin Jude and Lucas Garcia, support you throughout your internship, and what were their roles in devising the project??

I was told that these two collectively came up with the idea for the internship, so without them I wouldn’t have been at TECOSIM at all. They provided an incredibly helpful list of fuels and questions to research, without which I may have struggled on where to start. They were always available in case I needed to email them with a quick question for help.?

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What were the specific goals and objectives of your project and where there any challenges you encountered??

I had the set list of fuels to research and a set of questions to answer. My main challenge was trying to manage my time accordingly to gather a good range of information on each type of fuel. If I had more time, I really do think that I could have taken me research even further.?

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Could you share some insights about renewable fuel types that you discovered during your research??

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Out of all the fuels I researched I found that the most promising and an actual real-world possibility, would be solid-state lithium-metal batteries. With a range of up to 750 miles and charging time of minimum 10 minutes, these batteries can profoundly change the automotive world forever.?

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What would you say to others interested in a career in a similar field??

If you are doing a similar research task, time management is key; never rush your time researching – it is always a fine balance. For each point you want to research, make sure you look at a range of sources, as many may have different views or values. It is so important to gather all the knowledge you can and use it effectively.?

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Where do you see yourself in ten years and has your time at TECOSIM shaped your answer??

I see myself working with like-minded people on large projects relating to renewable energy and helping shape the world. So, you could say that my time at TECOSIM helped shape that.?

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We wish Oliver every success with his future plans, and were delighted to be part of his journey.

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