Roddy Mackay

2011 Saltire Scholar, University of Strathclyde

Tell us a bit about yourself...

I come from Wick, for those of you without a clue where that is it is 18 miles south of John o' Groats and for those of you without a clue where that is it's the bit at the very top. After finishing school I moved down to Glasgow to start my Master's degree in Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. I am now midway through my final year and am looking to get involved with a graduate programme in the near future.

What did your internship involve...

I was incredibly lucky to get an internship with Aggreko International, a temporary power generation company, in Dubai. Although the internship was supposed to be for 8 weeks myself and the other 2 Aggreko interns agreed to stay with the company for 12 weeks. Initially I worked on the fuel filter consumption levels in the companies diesel engines, carried out several site visit's in Indonesia to understand why the filtration problems were occurring and put together a presentation that was then shown to all of my superiors, this was pretty nerve wracking as this was a major area that Aggreko wanted to develop and accurate figures were crucial. Following on from this I was given the opportunity to extend my stay with the company in a role as the Fuel Infrastructure Lead on a 50 MW installation in Tanzania, this was a paid role and meant I was no longer an intern which coupled with the fact that I was leading a team of at least 9 workers was quite strange. I stayed in Tanzania for 5 weeks until the completion of the project when my long summer with Aggreko came to an end.

What has your Saltire Foundation experience meant to you?

I have come away from my Saltire experience having learned so many new things. Throughout my internship I was lucky enough to get the chance to visit and work on 3 different continents which no other internship could have offered. It was my first experience of working when immersed in a completely different culture and that is something I will never forget. I met new people who I will keep in contact with from now on and class as very good friends. Couple this with the fun I had with my fellow interns and work colleagues while away and I really cannot see any better way of spending my final summer whilst at university. The experience is so rare and so beneficial that makes you realise how unrivalled Saltire Foundation internships are.

What are you plans for the future?

Right now I am in the application process for several different graduate schemes across the UK but am also hoping to possibly return to Aggreko in September to hopefully give something back to the company who gave me such great experience. Aggreko are a leading Scottish company and it is for that reason amongst others that it is the place I want to start my career. I have a new found confidence when it comes to applying to and communicating with major companies and this comes from my Saltire experience.

Three words that summarise the experience?

No better summer!