Structural Engineering Vacation Student Review

As a vacation student (summer intern) in the structures team, I provided assistance to team members. This involved activities such as reviewing the codes of practice, designing structural members and producing visual aids, discussing my progress throughout with team members to ensure the work and thought process was valid. In my case I also worked with coding, learning through internal training a new language and expanded upon an existing script.

I was given a high degree of autonomy, from flexibility with working from home to organising my time and choosing to carry on with certain projects that I enjoyed. I was given the opportunity to contribute and expand on a script that will be used during the process of foundation design (structural side). I was then encouraged to validate it and ensure it provided accurate and appropriate results.

Through internal training, I learnt a new scripting language (Grasshopper) and was able to apply previous knowledge with Visual Basic in it. Reviewing historical (record) drawings has given further insight into the progress in engineering over the past century in terms of design, materials, drawing conventions. Notably, I have had the opportunity to interact and work with engineers from various degrees and experience levels, building connections and having insight into the skills required for engineers.

I received extensive support throughout my summer placement from the line manager to the wider team, ensuring I settled in the team and office well. Office socials were common and accessibility of support was plentiful. Despite being relatively large team (about 20), team-members were proactive in providing assistance and guidance. When I faced challenges regarding an unusual design, even team-members who worked on other projects took an interest and helped greatly with reasoning the problem.

The company culture was highly positive, with a strong emphasis on respect and motivated attitude towards work that is reflected in the workplace on a day to day basis. Throughout my short stay and being in a new city, I have had the opportunity to attend many sports and other socials organised by the office, from badminton to a plentiful office breakfast! Another time, the company's inclusive design specialists came to present.

I enjoyed it throughout, the team was very friendly whilst the work felt balanced. The company culture is highly admirable with a high level of integrity which sets an example for other companies. There are many great initiatives and platforms available to carry those over. It has exceeded my expectations and would be delighted to come back!

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