This special award recognises the important contribution business makes to students through their participation in RGU’s student placement programme.
Having built up a great working relationship within the subsea department of CNR International (UK) during two summer placements, and keen to gain as much experience as possible, Jack Durkacz requested a further 14-week placement.
The company went above and beyond the normal call of duty and gave him a “special opportunity” to undertake the relevant offshore survival training to go offshore as part of the client rep team aboard a dive support vessel.
He was heavily involved with crucial parts of the campaign. He was not simply an observer but was given his own scopes to develop and then oversee while offshore which included sitting in dive control on the boat and instructing divers 134m below the surface.
“It was a surreal experience and I only felt comfortable because of the massive amount of planning and preparation that I undertook onshore,” he said. “Understanding, planning and preparing were reiterated to me many times by the engineers at CNR, a valuable lesson that I will use throughout my career.”
CNR encouraged and supported his personal development by involving him in difficult, rather than easy tasks and responded to all his questions with in-depth answers – “I never felt like I was being a nuisance.”
He was placed in dive control during a leak detection operation and, following the procedure which had been prepared in advance of the campaign, instructed divers through the dive supervisors.
“Ultimately this scope ended up using all the contingency plans I had helped develop during the onshore phase, teaching me a valuable lesson in being prepared for all eventualities,” said Jack.
“This placement was proper engineering work from the start and the sky was the limit. A student intern getting to go offshore is a rarity and I am extremely grateful. CNR allowed me to define my own experience and take on as much responsibility as I could handle while also being there to support and provide valuable insight.”