Joe Macdonald

2011 Saltire Scholar, Heriot Watt University

GE

Tell us a bit about yourself….

I'm currently in my 5th year studying Mechanical Engineering at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh. Although I'm originally from Orkney most of my family have since moved to Perthshire so I spend a lot of time travelling up and down the country.


What did your internship involve?

My Saltire Foundation internship was with General Electric, one of the world's largest companies with around 287,000 employees. During my placement I worked with GE Power & Water in the Wind Energy division.

After some initial training at GE's Wind Energy HQ myself and another Saltire intern were relocated to a three 2.5MW wind turbine installation in North-West Poland. Our project was to investigate any potential efficiency savings or process improvements that could be achieved during the installation and commissioning of the turbines.

To identify areas of improvement we worked hands-on during the construction with various contractors of different nationalities. By the end of the 6 weeks on site we had a good idea of the processes involved and a number of key areas that could be improved. For the final week of my internship we were back in Germany to present our findings to the Global Field Operations management.


What has your Saltire experience meant to you?

I have always wanted to experience working overseas and my time with GE across Europe was an excellent introduction to this. Additionally it was the most valuable industrial work experience I have undertaken, working on a real project with a great company. It certainly wasn't an easy 8 weeks having to live in rural Poland but I enjoyed the added challenge and it was definitely worth doing. Driving across Germany on the autobahn was an added experience!


What's next?

I hope to complete my degree with distinction next year and secure a position in a leading energy company's graduate scheme. I am currently going through the application and assessment process for a number of companies and have realised the Saltire experience I have had is invaluable when competing in this extremely competitive job market.


Three words that would summarise your summer experience….

Rewarding, demanding, self-improving