Komayl jawadi

What motivated you to apply for Co-op/Internship

I really wanted to get some applicable engineering experience and get a taste of what life as an engineer is really like!

Can you describe your position in a few sentences?

As a manufacturing engineering intern it's my job to help ensure that our production lines run as smoothly as possible. This could entail revamping instruction manuals for the operators to follow, designing a criterion of what products are acceptable or defective from our suppliers, or designing new ergonomic tools to help with the ease of operator assembly and thinking of new ways to improve the efficiency of our line (that's just scraping the surface).

Did you receive training to perform your engineering duties? Please Explain.

Of course! Right now I'm learning how to use software such as SAP, Google Scripts, and other specialized software that we use to communicate with our operators and track our line's productivity.

What was your work atmosphere like? (flexibility, formality, team centric, supportive)

It seemed daunting at first because I never expected this much work to go into a manufacturing job, but at Celestica my team was really welcoming and helpful. They were open to any questions I had and made sure that I understood anything I was having trouble with. Even my manager made sure that I felt like a member of the team by personally coming up to me and assigning me to my own projects.

What new skills were you able to learn/develop during your Co-op/Internship?

It's only been about two months for me but I feel like I've really been able to improve my coding skills with exposure to Google Scripts and VBA. Plus my soft skills, technical writing and collaborating with others have slowly begun to improve as well.

How did your experience compare with your expectations?

They have met my expectations so far, I feel like a real engineer as I come to work every morning! But I'm sure there's a lot more for me to learn!

What was your proudest moment? 

Seeing how impressed and happy some of the most experienced operators were at my revamped instruction manual for one of our legacy products.

What advice would you offer to current students thinking about pursuing Co-op/Internship?

Don't think, start applying! As an automotive engineer I never expected to have an internship in the manufacturing industry, let alone aerospace and defense. During my interview my manager explained to me that I'll need to be a dynamic person, meaning that my role will both entail being on the line working alongside operators as well as enhancing my computer skills. These attributes I learnt about the role made me interested in this position which lead me to accept the job offer. There are so many transferable skills and lessons between these fields that I'm very grateful I've taken this internship.