s uc h a c o ol e x p e r ie nc e ,” he s ay s.
But it was a trip to Bedfordshire’s
Millbrook Proving Ground that
impressed Campbell beyond all
else. Given its undulating corners,
formidable suspension-testing
surfaces and high-speed challenges,
Campbell inevitably relished the
experience. “Getting to go up
to Millbrook and put a couple of
different Nissans through their
paces was something that I never
expected I would get to do through
this competition,” he beams. “It was
amazing and I loved every minute –
I ’ l l r e me mb e r t h at for e v e r.”
Campbell’s positivity is a
testament to his continued drive and
desire to further develop himself
and his automotive knowledge, and
he a d m it s he d id n’t w a nt h i s t i me at
Cranfield to end. “From day one I felt
like part of the team,” he says. “At any
p oi nt du r i n g my t i me he r e I fe lt l i k e
I’ve been able to speak to anybody in
the building about anything – I was
on f i r s t-n a me t e r m s w it h e v e r y b o d y.
“There are so many roles that
I had no idea even existed until I
got here. Value engineering is nowdefinitely an area I have a far greater
appreciation for and is undoubtedly
something I’d consider a career in.”
Next, Campbell is off to Toyota
U K ’s he a d of f ic e a nd w i l l a l s o s p e nd
a few days at the manufacturer’s
Burnaston factory, which is where
we’ll catch up with him again. L
When the Leaf was introduced in
2010, Nissan found itself at the
forefront of the mass EV market.
Since then, many other car makershave joined the party. But exterior
systems senior engineer Nicholas
Jones says it’s young talent like Lewis
Campbell that continues to propel
the company forward and allows
Nissan to fight against growing
threats from market rivals.
“The industry is changing very
quickly,” says Jones. “We’ve got a
lot of new technology coming in, new
powertrains, connected services
and the electrification of vehicles.These young people have a lot of
fresh thinking and they can also bring
their own personal experiences
with them, too.”
Jones also praised the Autocar-
Courland Next Generation Award for
creating awareness of lesser-known
roles in the industry: “We’re perhaps
not so well known here in Cranfield
and this scheme is raising awareness
of what we do and how much R&D
matters in the automotive world.”
WHY THE NEXT GENERATION
MATTERS TO NISSAN
TOYOTA (GB) PLC`
There are roles that I had no idea
even existed until I got here
a