Ged Warburton
I had a great experience and enjoyed two very beneficial six month working placements within the NETP programme.
The first was at Dajo Solutions in Northampton, a control and automation specialist where I largely worked on installing a smart home system into the companies premises which included wireless switching for the heaters and lights, energy monitoring, data storage and the programming of lighting and heating themes. Some of the technology used was RF switches, Programmable Logic Controllers, CODESYS programming software and a Human Machine Interface. This all seems quite a lot to take in but the support provided by Dajo was excellent. This work was also used as my second year university project which was an added bonus.
The second placement was at Abaco Systems in Towcester, a manufacturer of rugged electronics. I was incorporated into the test team. First programming and then testing a variety of computer circuit boards by operating them through different temperature ranges and in some cases through vibration. Accurate reading of the product test manuals to ensure correct set up of the test station and that the correct tests are being run is vital to being able to pass the boards on to the next stage in their process. These manuals are fairly technical and not always intuitive, fortunately there was always someone on hand to kindly guide me in the right direction and answer any questions I had, thus ever increasing my technical understanding.
How did the NETP help me?:
As a student, being part of the NETP has been of great benefit to me. As well as my second year university project being provided by Dajo Solutions. I’ve been able to sample two different fields of engineering, helping me to determine my own likes and dislikes. My CV has been enhanced by the experience I’ve gained and the solid references I can now call upon. I’ve also earnt my first pay cheques within my field of study, which is a reassuring achievement and thanks to the NETP I’ve had the opportunity to continue working with Abaco Systems on a part time basis while I finish my degree.
