In the summer of 2024, Chloe, a Sports Design Engineering Student at the University of Strathclyde, was an Engineering Intern with Wessington Cryogenics in Houghton le Spring, UK.
This summer I’m interning with Wessington Cryogenics as an Engineering Intern. Working with another intern, our project involves creating an Engineering Change Order (ECO) for the company. This allows adaptations to engineering drawing and assemblies to be identified and adapted with ease. This is a demanding project as I’m utilising software and coding languages I haven’t previously engaged with to create an entirely virtual product. As a product design engineer, I have more experience designing physical products, so this is an exciting challenge for me to obtain new skills with the purpose of improving the company’s current processes.
My personal goal for the summer is to learn how to live independently away from home. Professionally, I want to discover what the real working world is like, how to operate within it and complete a project that will have a true impact on the company. I feel truly valued and welcomed as part of the Wessington Cryogenics team and can’t wait to delve deeper into this project. It’s been so insightful collaborating with another Saltire Scholar and understanding how each other operates to work successfully together. Living away from home for the first time was a daunting thought however living with the other two interns and figuring things out as a team has made the whole process so much easier. These first two weeks have flown by and I can’t wait to explore Newcastle with the other scholars by my side.
My project has progressed rapidly since Week 2 of my internship at Wessington Cryogenics. I have created a functioning GUI (Graphical User Interface) that can search multiple servers and databases to retrieve the desired information for the engineering department. At the start of this internship, having not used many coding languages before, this was a daunting project. I am, however, now confident in my abilities to develop this project to a professional standard and exceed the company’s expectations. The project will have a true impact on how the engineering department will operate, motivating me to achieve the best outcome for the company and enjoying the challenge.
The investment from my bosses to develop my skills in and outside of work has been refreshing. In-depth personality analysis of us interns were performed at the start of the internship and discussions were had to understand how to best work with each other. This has been extremely helpful when completing this joint project. I have had exciting opportunities to meet women in engineering and build my professional network. Going to the Chamber Business Awards at the Glasshouse in Newcastle was great fun and a highlight of the internship so far.
I have really bonded with the other two interns I’m working and living with. It’s been great to have a group of friends to explore the area with as well of having two new gym buddies to train with – even when they don’t want to. I can’t wait for the next 4 weeks and completing a project to be proud of.
I am proud to have created an app that will make a great impact on how the engineering department operates. It now takes the engineering department 5 seconds to gather the required information for making an engineering change compared to a week’s lead time. I have achieved more than I would have expected of myself on day one and developed both personally and professionally. I have effectively learned how to network, work with others who approach tasks differently to myself and adapt when plans change and how to successfully reschedule to accommodate these changes. I would recommend becoming a Saltire Scholar to gain valuable experience in the working world and get a glimpse into what your career path could look like – there’s more ways than one! My internship at Wessington Cryogenics has motivated me to excel in my master’s year, getting the most out of my final year at university and creating my own opportunities to further my career.
