Case studies : Supply Chain Industrial Placement Programme at AkzoNobel: Deepak Sunder

Wanting to join a company that was a leader in its field and offered international opportunities, Deepak was attracted to AkzoNobel. Excited by the prospect of working in a market leading business and on projects with global reach, he joined the Supply Chain Industrial Placement Programme and has enjoyed an incredible time.

Studying at university can never give a complete insight into what a career in your chosen field will actually be like but by giving me relevant work experience, AkzoNobel is providing me with the opportunity to understand what a career in supply chain engineering involves. I also believe work experience will help me to get on a graduate scheme in the future and help achieve my aim of becoming a chartered engineer.

The support from my manager and from the team has been great - everyone is happy to spend time with me and it’s helped ease me into the team. I’m currently involved in three different projects; one is a researched-based project where I am finding out the best method of handling a type of raw material. I’m using contacts across the world to find out how handling methods vary between countries and manufacturing sites. I will then be creating a document with recommendations on the best handling methods - these methods will be agreed with company experts and will be available for reference for the benefit of the rest of the company. The other two projects involve working with a colleague on the graduate scheme to reduce manufacturing cycle times and deliver cost saving benefits. These projects involve testing new equipment that has been designed by AkzoNobel engineers and I am also providing input on ways that it can be improved.

My industrial placement is helping me to experience what it’s like to work in a close knit engineering team, where your input is always valued. It’s a great opportunity to think about what sort of field and areas within engineering I would like to explore once I graduate.

I am now looking forward to going back to university to complete my final year and masters. After completing my degree I am planning on applying for a graduate programme and working towards achieving Chartered Engineer recognition through the ICHEME. Being at AkzoNobel is great preparation for that.