My Journey with BMW from Plant Hams Hall to Oxford
The opportunity to intern with BMW at Plant Hams Hall in the UK has been amazing! The work itself was great, often being one or a combination of interesting, exciting, enjoyable, and or challenging (in a good way!). It provided opportunities to further develop my CAD modelling, video creation, and graphic design skills, and to also try my hand at project management.
The internship also provided the opportunity to live and work overseas, which have been personal and professional goals of mine. While living in Birmingham I was able to visit London, Oxford, Cambridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Stratford-upon-Avon, and travel to Amsterdam, Munich, and Marbella in Spain. But by far the most enjoyable part of the internship were the people I met during my time at Hams Hall. All the interns, graduates, apprentices, associates, and managers in Hams Hall and BMW in general were what made it an unforgettable year.
While staying in the UK after my internship wasn’t part of my original plan coming over, I had finished my degree, so it was always an option. Regardless of my plans I made it a point to try and network during my time at Hams Hall and to investigate the possible opportunities available afterwards. The closer I got to the end of my internship the more I considered staying longer, and in the last few months I started actively pursuing job opportunities with BMW and sitting for several interviews.
Out of these interviews, I was lucky enough to land my preferred position as a customs analyst with the UK Customs and Tax department for the BMW Group in Oxford. My work now involves process design and innovation for importing and exporting components and cars following the turmoil of Brexit.
I’m extremely excited to have secured the position with BMW. While the role isn’t what I initially had in mind when undertaking my industrial design degree, it provides an opportunity to explore a different facet of design work not previously considered. It also provides an opportunity to continue working for BMW and living in the UK.
The great thing with the BMW internship is you don’t know where it’s going to take you! I would never have guessed that when I started studying after finishing my degree at QUT in Brisbane that, I would be living in Oxford and working for BMW Group at the MINI plant.
Dave Quick
BMW Group Intern 2023
