Nurturing the next generation of electrical engineers

Our Advanced Air Mobility teams across Europe work closely with universities and other technology research centres to not only build our in-depth understanding of Urban and Regional Air Mobility applications, but to help nurture and harness the next generation of engineers who will pioneer these technologies.

Our Advanced Air Mobility teams across Europe work closely with universities and other technology research centres to not only build our in-depth understanding of Urban and Regional Air Mobility applications, but to help nurture and harness the next generation of engineers who will pioneer these technologies.

András Ujvári joined our teams twice: once as an intern while studying at the Technical University of Budapest (BME) and as a working student while pursuing a master’s degree at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). We spoke to him about his experience and the unique opportunities he’s been granted during these programmes.

What is it like being a working student at Rolls-Royce?

As an intern and working student, András has built experience with relevant simulation programmes

What is it like being a working student at Rolls-Royce?

The Electrical teams at Rolls-Royce both in Budapest and Munich have a long history and breadth of experience in developing technology for electric flight, and they are working at full speed on programmes that will deliver propulsion products for the Advanced Air Mobility market. For students, this offers a really exciting opportunity to develop fundamental competence while working on real projects that will transform how we travel over the coming decades.

As an intern my tasks were diverse, and my mentor started my development path within the framework of an important project right from the start. I worked in the field of electrical machine design, doing electromagnetic simulations. In the meantime, many requests for model-based software development and competence development came up, so I drifted into that direction.

When I moved to Germany, I was given a very interesting project in addition to software development: high-frequency modelling of drive train components, and within this we are investigating the propagation of voltage waves. I consider myself lucky to being involved in such exciting activities so early on in my engineering career.

What kind of tools can an intern or student learn about as part of Rolls-Royce Electrical?

An electric propulsion unit for Urban Air Mobility – one of Rolls-Royce’s developments that András is supporting with his work as a working student

What kind of tools can an intern or student learn about as part of Rolls-Royce Electrical?

For electromagnetic simulations, we currently use several different finite element simulation programs within Rolls-Royce to determine the torque, losses and signal shapes of electrical machines. The data extracted during the electromagnetic design process of the motor is transferred to another software environment where further simulations are performed that run faster than finite element method simulations.

At that stage, we perform simulations for the entire life cycle of electrical machines, as well as so-called ‘multidomain’ simulations. The latter means that the torque, losses, vibrations or even the operation of the complete subsystem, for example the inverter connected to the motor, can be investigated simultaneously.

How have your colleagues involved you in projects as an intern and as a working student?

András in Munich with Dr. Andreas Reeh, Global Head of Electromagnetics and Thermal Design – AAM

How have your colleagues involved you in projects as an intern and as a working student?

The level of involvement of a student at Rolls-Royce varies and depends on a lot of factors like the mentor and the project. In my case, from the very beginning I was offered a lot of opportunities for development and several different colleagues involved me in their projects.

I was able to participate in relevant meetings where I could ask questions and where, in return, my opinion was valued. All of my colleagues treat me as an equal partner – this has motivated me to continuously grow my knowledge further, and is probably one of the most important drivers for students to gain experience easily and quickly, and to learn important lessons for life.

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