Student Summer Internship at Reliance
Continuing its commitment to develop the talent of the future, Reliance Precision Limited (‘Reliance’) sees another young student successfully complete their summer internship.
Jai Schrem, a 21-year-old student from the University of Sheffield, has recently finished a 12-week placement in Reliance’s Engineering department. Jai, who is now studying a Pure Maths degree following a move from an Interdisciplinary Engineering degree, still has a passion for engineering and was looking for an opportunity to pursue practical work in this area over the summer period.
He originally came across the Reliance placement via an advert on the University of Sheffield’s Careers Service website. Not familiar with the company he did some initial research, and learning it specialised in high precision engineering, with a highly technical and scientific approach to its products and solutions, decided to apply.
He was interviewed at Reliance by Rik Stewart, Head of Design Engineering, and Rob Barton, Systems Engineering Team Leader, where he explained a research project he had undertaken within the University’s Civil Engineering Department the previous summer. His project looked at the settling behaviour of groups of particles in free-fall in a fluid. It compared data from an electrical resistance tomography sensor with a new theoretical modelling approach that exploited the capabilities of the University’s ShARC high performance computing cluster. This contributed to wider departmental research analysing the effect of suspended solids in our sewage systems.
Rob Barton explains “Jai came across as a very talented individual with a skill set that suited the mathematical analysis questions we were expecting to face over the summer. Combining strong maths with an appreciation of engineering is a winning combination for Reliance’s technical engineering approach and so we decided to offer him a placement to undertake a specific research project.”
Jai comments “My placement at Reliance has been a really positive experience. The work I have undertaken has suited me, making good use of my skills and knowledge. It has also been intellectually challenging and stimulating, something which I wasn’t sure would be the case when only with a company for a short period of time.” He continues “I have gained a real insight into what an engineering job involves on a day to day basis. Whilst I’m returning to my mathematical studies at university, this placement has convinced me to keep engineering as an open door and has clarified my ideas about the aspects of engineering I would be interested in pursuing in the future. On a more personal level, I have realised the importance of working in an organisation where people feel valued and a certain level of freedom is given so employees can develop and thrive.”
Rob Barton adds “The discussions I have had with Jai during his placement have been comparable to those I have with personnel with many years’ experience. He has quickly fitted into the team, effectively working on a number of analytical problems. His input has been invaluable, and we have definitely made progress in our engineering understanding on a number of projects thanks to him and his efforts.”