Vacation Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my summer placement. The team made me feel welcome from day one. The team made sure that I had a variety of work to do during the placement. I really enjoyed working on various projects during my short time at the company. It allowed me to gain a wide range of knowledge and skills.

I felt very valued by my colleagues and they made me feel like a full member of the team rather than just a placement student. My colleagues were keen to give me work and get me involved in various projects. They were able to spot my strengths immediately and gave me work that I could deliver. The colleagues that I worked with closely were appreciative of the work that I was doing for them.

I was given a lot of support and guidance by the team. For every project they always made it clear who to contact if I had any queries. My colleagues contacted me at each stage of the task. They always checked how I was getting on and if I needed any support. The colleagues that I worked closely with provided guidance throughout the whole project.

Since the team always made sure to get me involved in projects, I was generally quite busy. The majority of the time I had work to do. I was assigned a couple of projects per week with a number of tasks. I dedicated a few days to each project to ensure that I completed all of the tasks. I was busiest during the beginning and middle of my placement. However, the team still made sure that I had work to do during my last two weeks so I was given smaller tasks in the end.

I was given a significant level of responsibility during my placement. My colleagues made it clear that all the work that I was doing for each project was important, so there was always a level of responsibility to do it correctly. Overall, I felt happy with the level of responsibility given. My team allowed me to work on big projects and the work that I produced was always double checked before it was issued, which I highly appreciated.

The skills that I have developed during my placement will be invaluable to my postgraduate studies and future career. I have vastly improved my numerical skills, analytical skills, IT skills, and teamwork and communication skills. All of the skills that I have gained will assist me in my postgraduate assessments. For example I will be able to use my teamwork and communication skills for group work. Moreover, the skills that I have gained are essential skills for transport planners so I will definitely use what I have learnt in my future career in transport.

The atmosphere was great. Everyone was really inclusive and welcoming. For example my colleagues regularly invited me to lunch and events. Everyone was approachable, kind, and more than willing to help me. They were all an absolute pleasure to work with from beginning to end. All of this made it a great place to work.

The overall work placement was quite well organised. The online application process was straightforward and I was contacted almost immediately for interview. Information about the interview was clear and all the details were provided. After I received the job offer, it was made clear who to contact in HR if I had any queries prior to my start date. Once I started my placement, it was also made clear who my line manager was and who the other key contacts were.

I was invited to numerous meetings by members of my team, which showed that the company wanted to invest in me. Some of the meetings introduced me to the projects that the team were involved in and I learnt a lot about the variety of work the transport team does. These meetings also allowed me to network and share ideas with colleagues. Moreover, my colleagues made sure that the tasks that they gave me allowed me to develop a wide range of skills. They dedicated some of their time to show me how to carry out project-specific tasks correctly.

I thoroughly enjoyed my two month summer placement at Arup so I will definitely be applying for a job with the company in the near future. I will graduate in the following year and will be applying to the Graduate Scheme in a few weeks. My two months at the company have showed me that Arup is a great place to work. I was able to learn and develop within a highly supportive environment. I would definitely love the opportunity to return and work with the team again.

There were monthly events organised, which provided the opportunity to meet people from other teams and disciplines. There were a variety of socials such as pub of the month, hub of the month and pub lunches. I was able to attend some of the events and they were always great fun.

The cost of living and socialising in Cardiff is generally lower compared to other cities in the UK. Some of the socials were also paid for in part by Arup. Since I live in Cardiff City Centre I had a wide choice of places to socialise. Overall, the cost of socialising in Cardiff was low because there were lots of cheap places to go.

I did not spend much time in Cardiff during the weekends so I did not experience the Nightlife as much. But there is a wide variety of bars and restaurants in Cardiff City Centre and Cardiff Bay. There is something for everyone and a lot of the places are good value for money, which makes it more affordable to go out.

In my opinion there were lots of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. One of the members of the team was in charge or organising one of the monthly socials. Information about events such as conferences and CPD events were also sent out regularly.