Ilyas Ahmed
Ilyas Ahmed is 18 years old and has just completed a week’s work experience at McLaren, arranged by Mosaic. Over the course of his placement, Ilyas described in words his feelings, experiences and hopes for the future. These will appear as posts on the Mosaic Blog over the coming weeks.
I have counted each and every day since November (when I received the confirmation letter from McLaren) till this day. I was very eager to be there so I have got to the security gates at 7am and was then told that reception didn’t open till 9am. So this gave me time to sit in my car and look forward to the week ahead and also send a few emails to individuals who made this opportunity possible.
After HR introduction, we were returned to Racing reception, I was picked up by my manager who was Matthew Easton. He then took me around the design office and introduced me to some of the most talented engineers in the country who I will be working with for the days to come. I just couldn’t stop smiling until my cheek muscles started to hurt! I couldn’t believe what was happening!
Matt showed me my desk area which had the most powerful computer I have ever seen! And it was all mine for the week. As I knew the CAD (Computer Aided Design) software the company used prior to coming there, I have managed to chase up a few people to get a hold of a copy so that I can practice on it. My brother in law who is an aerospace engineer managed to get me a copy on a laptop I purposely brought.
This allowed me to show off my skills on CAD and my incredible manager found a project for me in which I was going to modal an actual stud piece which was going to be used on the future cars for fixing the high tech components located in a F1 car in place. Once again, I couldn’t believe what was happening! I was the first ever work experience student to get this privilege.
In the afternoon, I had a session in place with the gearbox design engineers. The engineers thoroughly explained the way which the highly sophisticated gearboxes functioned and demonstrated a few things on CAD. Straight after, I was taken down to the gearbox assembly department. Phil who was one of the technicians in the department took time to show me the components of the gearboxes. It was clear how complex it was to assemble the gears in such a tight casing. Attention to detail was everything.
After working hours, I just didn’t want to leave to go home, so I stayed for an extra hour working on CAD.
Mosaic has, since its inception, done exemplary work in raising the aspirations and building the confidence of young people. Role models and mentors are crucial to success and I have seen at first-hand the difference Mosaic’s programmes make in the lives of those involved....