Charlene Squires –
Student Sponsorship
BEng Aerospace Engineering
My first involvement with Gurit was when looking
for a focus to base my third year project on.
I had always been interested in composite materials,
so when I found out about the Sprint™
product that the company had been cultivating,
I was keen to learn more and this seemed like
the ideal opportunity. From here, I have never
looked back and now Gurit is my sponsor whilst
I’m working towards an Engineering doctorate
with the University of Southampton.
I have always been made to feel like part of
the team at Gurit, even though I initially spent
18 months based at the university. I have always
had regular contact with both my university
tutor, and my industrial supervisor from the
company, so the transition to spending 6 months
on the Isle of Wight was relatively pain-free!
I spent this time working within the Technical
Group, and really felt able to thrive as the
work environment encouraged development and
everyone readily shares knowledge. I used the
summer to complete the write-up of my mini thesis
before returning to Gurit to embark on a 1-year
placement within the Manufacturing Operations
Team. My next step at Gurit is to complete a
placement within the Automotive Account Engineering
Team, and I am really looking forward to the
day-to-day challenges that I face now, as well
as those that lie ahead. I definitely see my
future career working with Gurit; as a graduate
I truly feel appreciated by the level of trust
and responsibility the company has given me
in my role right from the outset, combined with
the wealth of support I have received from talented
engineers all around me. It is a great feeling
to work for an employer that takes the risk
to allow graduates to get involved right from
day one, rather than being forced to sit on
the sidelines.
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