Summer Scheme Student Review

I enjoyed most aspects of the placement. The work load was adequate with not too much or too little to do. However I did find the tasks I was assigned were not very varied, which did leave me wanting to have experienced more. The lack of site visits (once down to my own availability issues) was also something that I didn't enjoy.

I felt my colleagues treated me as part of the team and made me feel very welcome. We had lunch together most days giving a good amount of time to get to know them outside of the office and on a more personal level. I also felt they were interested in my studies and what I wanted to achieve on the placement.

I was supported throughout the placement with my mentor giving me my first initial jobs from the start but sitting with me and explaining what needed to be done I was also asked how much I knew before they gave me any asks which was reassuring rather than just being expected to do it.

Usually I had a substantial, but manageable amount of work to get on with, however there were times I found myself 'twiddling my thumbs' asking other colleagues for work, which they sometimes took quite long to get back to me. However I did have a month long project I could do in these times.

I wasn't given much responsibility on my placement, I was mainly doing background research and first drafts reports which would then be critiqued before being finalised by others. I didn't feel this was an issue however as many of these reports were very important and do need a second look.

The main skills I learnt were basically report writing skills, learning to be more concise. However my understanding of Town Planning has grown exponentially, with the placement giving me a real view into what it is actually like being a planner, something you can't gauge from university lectures.