Work Experience at DETC

The DETC School’s Outreach programme aims to educate school aged students in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers and encourage them to pursue their interest in these subjects. The programme activities range from school talks, visits to our offices and specific school/industry events led by DETC. This summer, in collaboration with our host organisation, High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute (HSSMI), we are hosting several work experience students in our offices.

Our aim is for the students to gain technical knowledge in digital engineering and report writing, and improve personal skills such as communication and organisation. Our in-house engineers support the students during their placement, which involves a rotation through the organisation’s teams, with a focus on the areas the student is interested in.

Just this week, Richard, a year 11 student completed his placement with us and had a few words to say about his experience and our commitment to school’s outreach.

My Experience at DETC and HSSMI by Richard Horn

After working at DETC and HSSMI for 2 weeks, I can honestly say that it has been educational to me and it is a great addition to my experiences. The atmosphere at the company is great, everyone makes you feel at home and as if you’ve been there for a long time, so asking questions about your work or asking for help is not a problem. Being treated as an adult and not a little child is probably the best feeling work experience at DETC and HSSMI can give you, no one is forgetting you and they always have plenty of work to be done whether it’s cutting up paper and putting them into files all the way to helping with and giving opinions on designs.

They invite you into their meetings to observe and learn for your future, especially the Executive Director who taught me to understand the agreements of partnerships with other companies. In my first week, they set me up with a team and there I was, helping, advising and researching. This team had set up a presentation inviting other companies to come and talk which I personally found very interesting.

On my second week, I was sent to another team who allowed me to use the Virtual Reality headset for the first time ever which was amazing, I was taught how to use the controls which got easier and easier to use over time. They set me with challenges on what to design in Virtual Reality, trying to design a car was the most fun I’ve had with a gaming system. They told me about all the 3D designing software which I could download for free and use at home, also being taught how to use the software by my team I was able to successfully design a screwdriver and a clamp.