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.
I was delighted to present an award at the Mosaic Talent Awards in 2010. It was clear to me that Mosaic is serving a really important role in lifting the aspirations of young people and making positive role models accessible to them to help them reach those aspirations. I am...
Reblogged this on ITT Future You 2013 and commented:
Getting work experience opportunities are few and far between, so make sure that you try hard and never give up, when it comes to seeking work experience opportunities!
ITT Future You 2013, thanks you for the motivational words. I shall continue to pursue the dream and make sure to take advantage of any beneficial opportunities like this. The experience has clearly made the future brighter and I am certainly grateful for it!
P.S. Sorry for the delayed reply.
Well done Ilyas, very proud of you. Putting S&E on the map! Keep your feet firmly on the ground & chase your dreams, you certainly have the talent, ability & personality to achieve anything you want.
Best of luck
Ash
Thank you very much for your kind words and for of course having faith in me. Hopefully, the upcoming years will be ever more exciting and adventurous! I will continue to soldier on and make you more proud.
Well Done Ilyas. Im glad you enjoyed your work experience, and hope that it opens the doors to success for you. Remember while climbing the tree to success to not forget about your roots. We all from Slough and Eton School are very proud of you.
Mr McAteer, I would like to show my gratitude to you and Slough and Eton School for the major contributions towards making this work placement possible. I will do my best to maximise the pace to reach the top and rest assure that there is no possibility in forgetting my roots! Perhaps someday, I will be opening up doors of opportunities into F1 for pupils from Slough and Eton and schools from across the world.
Excellent Ilyas, I am certain that you will exceed all your wildest dreams. Remember those numerous late hours spent after school with the others finishing designs and model making , they all seem worth while now.
Remain an inspiration to your peers, even if you have to drag them up kicking and screaming..Make them win. You know what I’m referring to.
Gandhi put it succinctly,”be the change that you want to see in the world”
Dear Mr Ahmed,
My name is Mikey: I am currently in Year 13 and will be studying at university this Autumn.
I really enjoyed your posts and I am wondering how you were able to secure this opportunity?
I would be very grateful if you can reply.
Thank you,
Mikey
Hi Mike,
Nizam from Mosaic here. Ilyas was part of Mosaic’s secondary school mentoring programme [https://www.mosaicnetwork.co.uk/en_gb/portal/secondary-school-mentoring] and took part in a world of work visit at the McLaren HQ in Woking. Ilyas was able to secure a work placement by simply asking for it when he met with the Head of Design! Fast forward a few years, and Ilyas is embarking on an engineering degree and will be going back to McLaren for an internship! We are very proud of him.
Mosaic are currently exploring how to advance into universities, so please do follow us on Twitter and Facebook, to see how you might get involved with us in the future.