Felix

University attended: Imperial College London
Course attended: Mechanical Engineering
Graduated: 2002
Date Joined:  2007

What motivated you to take an internship at Shell in the first place?

As one of the world's leading oil producing and trading companies Shell is highly active in many areas of fascinating research such as the area of fuels technology or bio-fuels.

For a young student with a technical background, a company such as Shell has a lot to offer in both work and research environments. Especially fascinating for me is the fact, that excellent business is mainly driven by technology and technical expertise here.

What role did you play during your internship - did you feel you were doing a 'real job' ?

In my internship as mechanical engineer, I was part of Shell Global Solutions' fuels research department.

Right from the start, I was given sole responsibility on a specific bio fuels project. The project was particularly interesting to me personally, and gave me the opportunity to gain an insight into fuels technology.

What did you learn about Shell - and about yourself - in the process?

The most important experience during my internship was getting to know the Shell culture. Eventually this led to my decision to take a permanent job in the Shell research department.

The internship made me realise that I would really enjoy working in a technical environment, where creativity and responsibility are an essential part of the daily work.

What helped you to decide to accept the Shell job offer after the internship was over?

It was crucial for me to find a job that I would enjoy, a job I could be genuinely passionate about.

Thanks to the internship, I knew exactly what would be expected me, both from a professional standpoint, and from the perspective of the working culture and atmosphere. My team is highly supportive and does everything to ensure a healthy and positive atmosphere.

Furthermore, compared to some other companies I'd worked for, Shell offers a really unique cooperative culture, where individuals really can make a difference and are supported by the company wherever possible.

Would you recommend an internship to other high-achieving students and why?

From a technical point of view, the oil industry and the renewable energy sector will be of key economic importance in the decades to come. Finding solutions for energy supply and global warming issues will be increasingly important for future generations.

Working for Shell, young engineers can be part of the challenge for a sustainable future and gain an insight into the problems and challenges that global energy suppliers as Shell face.

From a professional point of view, I can recommend an internship because it opens the gates to a leading energy company, which has many lucrative and interesting career opportunities.

Last but not least I can recommend an internship because I can almost guarantee that it will be a fun time.