Vacation Student - Town Planning Review

Working at Arup has been a fantastic experience and it has been truly enjoyable. The projects taken on by the company, such as the 2022 Commonwealth Games' Alexander Stadium, the Milton Keynes Station Square and HS2 are all really exciting and my contribution to them has been fulfilling. The Planning team at the Midlands Campus is well developed and well-rounded. They are all very interesting and have made a conscious effort to tell me about their experience.

My team at Arup ranged from senior members to recent graduate planners. Within this diverse group, all of the team members made a conscious effort to make time to talk me through their projects rather than just sending me their tasks. With the majority of the group, I had the opportunity to go for 30 minute chats which really helped me to settle in and feel as though the team cared about getting to know me too.

My line manager was supportive from even before the placement started. She got in contact early in order to ensure I was mobilised for the projects I'd be working on in time for starting my internship. She would also check in with me to make sure that I had an ample workload and that I had gotten to meet all of the team members. She went beyond the requirements of her role by providing me with details of content and events which would benefit by professional development such as networking events and the IEMA.

The nature of the work meant that I was often being delegated several different projects from within the team at once and was expected to manage my time between them. This made submitting my work feel rewarding and I had a steady stream of work to get on with. Even during my last week where the team were aware of my limited availability, I was given small manageable tasks as well as conducting research which I summarised and distributed within the team.

With the nature of Arup as a global company which takes on large-scale infrastructure projects, the scope for my ability to majorly influence things was limited. Like in many large companies, my role as a single member was minor, however, I knew that I was making a significant contribution to a project that would have a national impact. The tasks I was assigned were manageable and suited to my skill level and I still knew that my input was valued and crucial to the projects I worked on.

Working with Arup has informed me of the practicalities of planning processes within the private sector and has exposed me to a completely new context away from the theory-based writings of academia. I implemented my mapping skills picked up during my degree by using the ArcMap software to support research I was conducting. This allowed me to apply the skills I had developed and ensure they were not left behind at University. Coding was used extensively for public consultation feedback and an understanding of the process of its analysis and the generation of useful codes will inform any future work I will do with surveys. Working within an inter-disciplinary office has provided me with the opportunity to network within my other interests which include Environmental Assessment. My line manager and other team members introduced me to staff from within the environmental department and helped to grow my network

I feel as though working within the planning team meant that I was in one of the liveliest parts of the office. The need for cross-collaboration within projects as well as exchange of knowledge within the team meant that there were frequent conversations which would spark up interesting debates. The planning team have a hot desk set up which meant that I was sat amongst different people every day and this helped with becoming friendly with all of the people in the team. The Midlands Campus office itself is a really positive space and is a well-spaced and visually appealing environment to work in.

The internship was very well organised from the point of receiving my offer. I was contacted by my line manager early on who ensured I was mobilised of the larger scale projects ahead of arriving at the office (Sending a CV off to individual clients etc like Transport Scotland and HS2 etc.). Once I was at the office, I was asked to give a 5 minute presentation about myself at the team meeting which helped to create a general introduction. Aside from this, interns on the team are taken for 30 minute chats with individual team members to get to know them. Furthermore, the previous intern in his 6th and final week overlapped with my first week, meaning that I had an opportunity to talk with him and learn from his internship experience in the same position. The internship process also included a trip to Arup's Nottingham office for a day to experience working elsewhere within the company which was really useful.

During my first day I was tasked with completing several compulsory online training modules which meant that I was able to work to the same ethical and professional standards as all other staff in the office. Further to this, my manager suggested that I take time to use Arup's online learning platform titled 'Arup University' (Moodle-based platform) to develop my knowledge and interests further through additional online modules, for example 'Resilient Cities' and 'Sustainable Development'. I was provided with site safety training which allowed me to conduct surveys in the field on site visits which were a highlight of my experience as I got to experience work outside of the office.

The company is highly competitive and planning employees are expected to have a masters level qualification which I am yet to get. However, I believe that with the time that the company has invested in training me up and the strong relationships that I have developed with the team, I would have a good chance at returning to work within the same office.

While I was the only intern on the planning team, my induction to the office contained a cohort of placement students and interns and so I was able to meet someone who I was getting the train to / from work with and became good friends. While there was no formal social for the interns, the graudates have a 'grad week' scheme of socials and inductions in September which 'year in industry' placement students are also invited to. With the office being based in a retail park, there was little opportunity to go for after-work drinks, but the team did organise events together like RTPI socials and a trip to Edgbaston Cricket Ground. The team members would go for lunch together daily in the office canteen which was something I appreciated because of the friendly nature of the team which made spending lunch with them really enjoyable.

Being based in a retail park, the majority of the office commuted in from Birmingham or Solihull. These are both affordable places to live and go out. There were good options for commuting into work from Birmingham and Solihull with support from a dedicated coach service to the Business park. This meant that my daily train journey only cost around £4 for a return ticket. There is a well-developed car share scheme at Arup which allows people to share lifts into work together which also helps to keep commuting costs down for those who live near those with a car or have their own.

With the Midlands Campus being based in the Blythe Valley Retail Park, there were no opportunities to go out after work unless it was into Birmingham. This meant that most people would simply go home after work and there wasn't much of a social element. However, some organised events did take place but these were spread out and typically one-offs.

The planning team is active in attending networking events within Birmingham and would attend these together. There was also a campus six-a-side football team which played on Thursdays, although I did not get the opportunity to get involved with this because of the restricted travel arrangements to / from campus. The team did not go out together in town because of the distance from the retail park and logistics of getting there together.