Akshay Annadata

I have persued an Industrial Placement at Airbus, the Worlds leading Aircraft Manufacturer. I was placed in the Operability Team and directly reported to the Head of Overall Operability Department.

As a part of Operability team I worked on various projects. I was involved in calculating and giving estimations of the Maintenance costs and Operational Interruptions of the new components or systems being installed on the Aircraft. I had to make presentations at regular intervals and present it to the higher-ups in France. I was deeply involved in working on e-Taxi which was a major project for Airbus.

I wanted to get an insight of the business world even before I graduate. Also my experience would help me to fast track my graduate placements. 

After working in an industry, I have realized that technical knowledge is secondary and the first and foremost thing is your professional behaviour and your communication skills. Not at all places you will be applying the university knowledge. My placement helped me to develop Lateral Thinking which is the one of the most important thing when you are an employee in any company. My placement helped me to develop as a character and gave me confidence to face people and work on projects. 

I would definitely advise and encourage students to apply for year in industry, since it can be a life turning point like it was in my case. It will develop you as a character and you will have definitely have loads of opportunities for your graduate placement. It’s not only your grades which the company considers; it’s your experience and skills that they look for as well. 

TIPS! 

Get your CV checked by the Career Centre! They are pretty good! 

Get work experience! It can be anything- Voluntary work, Part Time jobs, Summer Placements. This will aid you in securing an industrial placement.