MEchanical Engineering Vacation Placement Review

I found my work placement very enjoyable, the work was challenging and interesting, and therefore rewarding upon completion.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues, every person that I encountered on my internship was welcoming and very very helpful. I was very shocked at the amount of time and patience people were willing to give up to facilitate my learning.

The support was fantastic at Arup, The HR department were great at sorting out all of the official documentation and the technical staff were extremely supportive and help me achieve the most out of my internship buy providing me with as many opportunities as possible.

I was busy throughout my placement at Arup, whenever I completed an assignment my graduate had something just as interesting lined up for me to get my teeth stuck into.

I was surprised at the amount of responsibility I was given during my time at Arup. It is very exciting to think that some of the work I completed during my internship will actually be used in building around London.

I gathered so much knowledge and experience during my internship, it has and will help me continue with my studies. It has not only help me academically but also give me a greater insight into the sector I wish to pursue my career in, which is invaluable.

The atmosphere in the office at Arup was very relaxed and welcoming, the other staff members were friendly and interested in what I had to say. However when work needed to be done everyone knuckled down and got to work, work hard play hard sort of vibe. This suited me down to the ground because you can only be focused on a computer screen for so long before you need a little break.

I was not aware that I would be starting an internship until 10 days before it was due to start. My guess is because someone else dropped out. Having said this though, once I had been accepted the process appeared to be flawless. All of the correct paper work was sent out very quickly and Arup were understanding of my previous commitments and allowed me time off for things that had already been organised.

Arup are very conscious of investing in there employee, they host regular seminars and events at their offices in London which are free for all employees to attend, as well as providing money to different departments to host their own events. during my time at Arup I attended a handful of these event and the definitely helped me understand the topic in more detail.

I would love to work for Arup when I graduate. Due to the way that the business is run and owned by mainly its employees and not by a couple of partners the work that they decide to do isn't always driven by monetary factors. This is exciting to me because it means the work that Arup completes can be humanitarian or very front line research based.

Yes, the other interns and myself ate together most lunchtimes and we were asked by the grads to join them for drinks on Fridays. It was good to be included and to create a network of fellow students from across the country. I has since caught up with a couple of them while visiting London.

I stayed in West London which would have ordinarily been very expensive but I lodged with family friends so that worked out a lot cheaper. The cost of lunch was pretty standard as I bought food from the supermarkets. However, eating out in the evening and drinks were very expensive, this did not bother me however because the quality of the food was always fantastic and the pubs were always of a high standard.

There were around 5 bars within a 5 minute walking distance, one of which was very very cheap and lively. However, the offices were very very central and you could be pretty much anywhere in London within a 10 minute tube ride. This made it very easy to go out and meet up with friends who were also completing placements/internships in the city.

There were many occasions when I could have got involved in activities outside in work, there was a five a side team, a softball tournament and other events going on during my time at Arup. Obviously there was lots and lots to do in the city after work, when possible I visited museums with friends and also did some sight seeing. I went to a comedy club and a concert during my time staying in London.