Geotechnical Vacation Student Review

I really enjoyed my placement with Arup this summer. I worked in the Geotechnics team in the Bristol office and the team were very friendly and welcoming. While everyone works hard, there is a relaxed feel in the office. There were lots of opportunities to get involved in social activities as well which was fun.

I felt very valued by my colleagues during my placement. I was very keen to help anyone out with work and on projects and my high work ethic was valued by my colleagues. Because of this I was able to get involved and help on a wide variety of projects within the team. This enhanced my experience and exposure to different engineering projects and the different aspects geotechnical engineers get involved in.

I was given lots of support by my colleagues throughout the placement. I hadn't had any experience of geotechnical engineering before my placement so my colleagues were able to allow me to learn a lot about the field of engineering. My line manager always made sure I was working on something interesting so I got the most out of the placement.

My workload fluctuated throughout the placement so at times I found myself with little to do. However it was really fun when I had a large workload and when I was given ownership of a task for a project. One of the most interesting pieces of work I helped with was analysing a sheet pile wall and then writing a technical note of my findings. It was rewarding when I completed this task as I was given some responsibility and freedom on how I completed the work.

For most of the placement, due to my lack of geotechnical engineering experience, I wasn't able to be given a lot of responsibility. Instead I was guided quite heavily for most of the work I completed, which enabled me to gain a lot of knowledge. However, I was given some responsibility when I was asked to analyse a sheet pile wall. This was my favourite task because of the responsibility I was given.

Some of the modules I am taking in my third year of my degree are Geotechnical engineering modules, therefore I hope my placement will give me an insight into how the theory we learn at univeristy is applied in industry. I hope to be able to return to Arup next summer and undertake a graduate placement with the company and think the experience gained on my summer placement will help with this.

The Arup Bristol office has a very relaxed atmosphere and all staff are really friendly. The office is open plan so you are able to easily talk to colleagues from other teams. This layout is useful in engineering due to the multidisciplinary nature of the projects. There were lots of team and office socials I had the opportunity of getting involved in which made me feel very welcome.

The organisation of my placement was very good. I received documents via email before my placement began with clear instructions about my first day. Also the documents contained information about the company which was useful to read before starting. On my first day I was set up with a laptop and invited to HR and Health and Safety inductions.

Due to the short duration of my placement , I wasn't able to undertake any long training courses. However, I was given a training booklet on a geotechnical mapping software that I was able to work through in times of low workload. I then used this software for work on one of the projects so the training was useful. I was also exposed to different analysis software and was shown how to use those to the extent of being able to complete the task I was given.

I am very keen to complete another summer placement with Arup next year. I would like to work in a different team to this year so I can increase my exposure to engineering disciplines and enhance my industrial engineering experience. I am also going to apply for a graduate placement with Arup, which I hope would lead onto a full time job with the company.

There weren't many fellow summer placement students working with Arup this year, however new graduate and industrial placement students arrived during my placement. The socials were with all colleagues and there was always something to get involved with within the office. It was nice to get to know my colleagues more outside the office on these social events.

I lived at home during my placement and commuted to the office by train each day. However, Bristol has a large student base so socialising within Bristol was affordable. There are a variety of restaurants and activities to choose from in Bristol. Also, the office is in walking distance to a lot of social places in the city.

I didn't experience the nightlife in Bristol during my placement, yet know it is very popular and has a good reputation. Every month the Bristol office have a Pub of the Month event which is very popular, especially with the students and graduates, and the pubs chosen are always very fun to go to.

There were lots of opportunities sent to us for activities outside of work. I was unable to attend any this year but on my placement with Arup last year I went cycling in the Newport velodrome. This was such a fun experience and was a shame I was unable to attend it this year.