Blogs

Exams are done and England’s summer favourites and sunny weather have left everyone buzzing with excitement. From Cambridge May balls and garden parties to Royal Ascot and Wimbledon to the World Cup and the Royal Henley Regatta, London is certainly an exciting place to be in summer. It is particularly lively in the Rolls-Royce international office, just outside of Buckingham Palace; with not only great World Cup chat from various nationalities, but also some incredibly interesting projects.

My time with Rolls-Royce so far (all of two weeks) has been everything I hoped it would be and more. It is an incredibly friendly bunch of people who are all very bright and committed to strong development. They have all gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and to assign me with stimulating tasks. My first week was filled with a plethora of training and introductory calls from regional directors located in Indonesia, Thailand, France, Singapore and Vietnam. I sit in the international and government relations team and will be finishing my placement out in Jakarta, Indonesia in August (something for which I am also incredibly excited!).

My morning starts with a short tube ride and a lovely stroll through Green Park. I am lucky to get to pass by the barracks – outside of the palace – where the guards hold a drill parade every morning. I come in to the office and often have relatively early morning calls as they are usually with the team out in Asia. I work with various people throughout the day on my three main objective projects. I will also be commencing work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the government relations aspect of the role. The team is upbeat and dynamic, shown by our lunchtime run today with the trainer! In the evenings I am able to get in runs around Primrose Hill and play a few quick games of tennis with friends also working in London. Next week I am participating in the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge Run in Battersea Park, which is a great team building event and fantastic place to meet other City employees.

I am very optimistic that my internship will continue as it has begun. I'm now off to Henley for a weekend of fantastically coloured blazers, phenomenal rowing and fun!

When we last heard from Courtney, she'd just finished her first two weeks with Rolls-Royce. Since then she's travelled the world with the company. We caught up with her to find out more...

The summer with Rolls-Royce has truly been unbelievable. I just returned home from my business trip in Jakarta, Indonesia where I was able to see an entirely new culture. I attended a dinner with the British Ambassador at the new embassy celebrating a British-Indonesian aviation partnership, experienced Jakarta traffic at its peak and met some incredibly lovely Indonesians. I have one week left with Rolls-Royce when I return to London and am very much looking forward to getting back to the office.

Explaining all of the wonderful opportunities I have received this summer would take far too long, but what I can say is how impressed I am with the quality of the internship provided by Rolls-Royce. They went over and above to welcome me to the team and to offer learning opportunities at every turn. Whether it was hosting a group from parliament at the Farnborough Air Show or spending the day with the Indonesian ambassador to London, it is safe to say that I never had a boring week at work. Some of the summer highlights also included meeting the Rolls-Royce CEO, getting a private tour of parliament, going to a business meeting in Brussels, giving a presentation in Warwick, going on team runs through St. James Park and meeting various individuals from the FCO.

This experience has opened up my mind to the vast world of opportunities that await when I finish studying at Cambridge and I am incredibly excited to embark on my post-graduation journey. Rolls-Royce has begun my life adventure that encapsulates perfectly one of my favourite quotes from Mark Twain: 'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.'

So thank you to Rolls-Royce and to the Undergraduate of the Year Awards for everything!

Where are they now?

Customer relationship management at Rolls-Royce.