Summer Student Tunnel Engineer Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my 8-week summer internship at Atkins! Working for such a big company allowed me to get involved with real work on very high-profile projects. I was able to apply a lot of the things I've learnt at University so far into real-life scenarios which was a great learning curve for me. I couldn't recommend the company enough and will definitely be applying to join back as a graduate after I finish University.

What I have noticed is that people work very well in teams, and enjoy doing so. As the work I was given was challenging, I wasn't expected to get everything right first time. Having said that, I always felt like I could ask my colleagues for help when I was having trouble with something which definitely helped me improve my engineering ability. I received good quality feedback on a regular basis which was very helpful for my improvement over the course of the internship!

When I arrived on my first day, I was allocated a Line Manager and a 'Buddy', who was a graduate engineer in the team I was joining for my internship. Over the course of the 8 weeks I received a lot of guidance and support, especially when I wasn't sure about how to do certain things - whether that be HR related (e.g. timesheets) or engineering related (e.g. difficult calculations). The system they have at Atkins is very well structured and ensures that you always have a manager you can look to for help when you require it.

I was always busy on a daily basis! The nature of engineering consultancy work means that as you finish a job/project, you may have to wait around sometime for more work to come in. This happened on one occasion for a week or so during my internship; however, I was given the exciting task of creating a new project for GCSE work experience students. This not only allowed me to think creatively but also meant I had to familiarise myself with different aspects of ground engineering to ensure the project work was factually correct.

Considering I was only there for 8 weeks and didn't have a lot of time to show my full potential, I was given a lot of experience. Within the first few weeks I was given the task of leading a review meeting and giving a presentation on the work I had been doing as part of Joint Venture project. I had to liaise with other members of my team to ensure the information I was reviewing was correct and fully represented the work the other team members had been doing.

One of the main aspects of the work I did whilst on placement was to use Eurocodes to check designs to ensure they passed in every aspect of their design. Although I had experience of using them at University, having industry professionals who were willing to provide guidance and help on how to use them will prove very beneficial for my final year at University. Also, as I had to a number of presentations, this will no doubt improve my presenting skills which I may require if presenting to large groups of people in my future working life.

I was based in the company’s Euston Tower office in London, which had exceptional views over the City of London and definitely inspired me to maintain a high work rate. Everyone I spoke to in the office was friendly, and I was introduced to everyone in my team on the first day which was helpful. The office was typically how you’d expect an office full of hard working professionals to be, which pushed myself to work hard and to try and complete the work I was given to the best of my ability.

Overall I think my summer internship was very well organised. Before starting my placement, my Line Manager got in contact with me through email to give me general information about my working hours, dress code etc., as well as telling me about the work I’d be doing over my internship. It was really encouraging to know that the team had thought carefully about the work I’d be doing throughout my 8 weeks. In addition to this, I had an initial meeting with my Line Manager where I set a number of objectives that I completed over the course of the 8 weeks.

I think it’s very difficult for a company to invest in your personal development when you are with them for such a short amount of time; however, I have to say that Atkins managed to do this whilst I was with them. I was lucky enough to go on a couple of site visits, including Crossrail’s Farringdon Station, which was very interesting and informative. My Buddy also organised a talk on ICE Chartership – this allowed me to find out information about the Chartership process and how the company would support me through a Graduate Chartership Scheme if I was to re-join them after University.

Having had a great experience with Atkins over the summer, I will definitely be applying to for a graduate position upon leaving University. From my short time with them, the company definitely feels like it is has an environment where I could grow both as a working professional and as a person.

As I was there for only 8 weeks, it was difficult to make lots of friendships. I did however manage to socialise with a couple of other interns in my company which was beneficial; however, there was no process implemented by the company for interns to meet other interns/placement students which was surprising. However, I know this is different for Graduates as there is a Graduate-led social events team.

With an office based in Central London, and having visited the city on many occasions, I knew it was going to be expensive place to live and socialise before I accepted the contract. I managed to get a spare room in a shared house through a room advertising website, which meant I saved a lot more money than renting a flat or student accommodation room by myself over the summer – I would definitely recommend finding a flat share as it is much cheaper and it is a great way to meet other people!

Due to the lack of social events organised amongst interns, I didn’t get to experience as much nightlife as I would have liked with my colleagues. However, I did have other friends living in London and therefore got to experience it a lot with them. As you can probably imagine, you’re never stuck for choice and there is always something on in the evening, especially during summer – although it is often a very expensive night!

There were some events that were organised for me to get involved in – however, most of the time I had to proactively search and ask around to see if there were any activities I could do outside of work. I managed to find out about and join another team for their weekly football match at Regent’s Park which was a great way to meet people from other teams within the company. I feel like as a Graduate I would have been made more aware of social/sporting activities taking place outside of work.