Thales Graduates at the Big Bang 2014

Working as a graduate at Thales gives you the opportunity to get involved in projects outside the remit of your specific role.

This March, Thales attended the Big Bang Fair at the Birmingham NEC and our presence at the event was fully organised and run by graduates from across the country. The Big Bang Fair is a four-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) for young people in the UK, and attracted more than 70,000 visitors. Its primary aim is to promote the exciting possibilities and future careers that exist for young people with STEM qualifications and experience.

The event was a great success with tens of thousands of children, parents and teachers in attendance. The Thales stand attracted a big crowd thanks to a number of activities including a code breaker, which involved solving maths equations to complete a circuit, and a game that tested reaction times.

Carl Whittaker, a Thales graduate and software engineer based in Cambridge, designed and created a game for the Thales stand, which involved navigating a biped robot around a short maze in under a minute. He says: “When I initially proposed the idea, it was well received by the organising committee and with regular meetings with the project manager, we adapted the concept so that it met regulations and was a more viable activity for a busy environment. When we were confident of the design, we presented the idea to the Thales UK senior management. 

"The Big Bang Fair gave me the chance to individually manage every stage of product development, from design and manufacturing through to budgeting and production. It was rewarding seeing my idea taken from conception to finished product, and it was even featured on the Thales video and the official Big Bang Fair highlights video!”

Bethany Read, a business graduate based in Basingstoke, project managed the event. She says: “Being project manager for the Big Bang Fair was a fantastic opportunity to try something new, and develop my skills. As project manager, it was my job to ensure that everything ran smoothly. This involved working closely with the finance team to monitor costs, and to liase with the individual games teams to ensure they were working to schedule. I also had to make decisions on the build of the stand, and amend the layout to reflect our changing requirements.

"Working on the event was a truly enjoyable experience and I would definitely recommend graduates volunteering for the opportunities the graduate scheme provides. It offers you the chance to develop in areas out of your comfort zone”.