Summer Placement Student I Structures Review

I have really enjoyed my internship experience and have definitely gained a lot from it. From the word ‘go’, I hit the ground running and was given design tasks to do that were integral to the project. Throughout the 8 weeks, I was able to work on a range of different tasks including using software, doing calculations, writing up reports and going on site visits. There were also opportunities to get involved in workshops and CPD seminars.

The Structures team at the Leeds office were absolutely brilliant in making me feel part of the team. Everyone was friendly and approachable, and the environment was easy to work in. Comments that I suggested were always thoroughly discussed with my line manager and the Graduate Structural Engineer whom I was working with, and if it was the best option, often implemented. This made me feel valued by the team and gave me a sense of achievement, which was great.

The support and guidance was readily available to me if and when I needed it. I felt comfortable tapping on the shoulders of any Structural Engineer there and asking questions related to not just the task at hand, but about the profession, Chartership, the role of the engineer in the design team, procurement and so on. All this helped me gain a better overall understanding of the role.

The project I would be working on was explained to me when I started my internship, and I was given plenty of support on the design tasks and outcomes I was expected to produce throughout the project. It was then up to me how I wanted to divide the responsibility into smaller design tasks, and set daily goals on what I wanted to achieve with there being plenty of opportunities to discuss it with my line manager if need be.

I was given the right amount I believe, as my manager trusted me to get along fine with the work knowing that the support was there if needed. I was responsible of collating the series of design work I did and write up reports to be sent to the architect in order to further the design process. On another project, I was also responsible for writing up a report detailing findings of a venue inspection to be sent off to the clients to review.

I am confident that the skills I developed will definitely assist me in my final year and beyond. Having applied the structural design skills I learnt in university to a real life project and seeing it work in context, I appreciate how my degree is preparing me for work as a Structural Engineer. I intend to further develop using the new software I learnt during my time at BH during my final year projects and in my spare time.

The atmosphere was very comfortable to work in. Everyone at the office were all determined and self-motivated, but also freely struck up conversations now and then. There is also an unwritten law that when one person goes to make a cup of tea, they ask the whole ‘pod’ (cluster of people working next to each other) if anyone else wants a hot beverage which was the perfect way to get conversations flowing.

In general, the work placement was set up very well - from the application process, to the interview stage, and to getting an acceptance notification. There was a slight delay in getting information just before the start of the internship due to the high volume of interns that month. On the first day of my internship, I was given a full induction, was introduced to all the members of the Structures and Grounds team, and had to complete a series of Health & Safety training. At the end of the internship, I was asked to completely a feedback form on how I found the whole experience and if I would be interested in coming back in a Graduate role.

There was a workshop on using Dynamo, a visual programming extension for Autodesk Revit, which I was able to participate in. I also attended a CPD seminar on Structural Waterproofing.

I would definitely love to come back as a Graduate Structural Engineer and work with the company. It looks like they are pretty keen on retaining summer placement students and bringing them back to work there as well.

There were two other placement students during the first two weeks of my internship, after which it was only me and one other intern. Social scenes included lunchtimes together and ‘Structures Club’ where everyone from the Structures team sat down together and had informal conversations about the projects they were working on and any other topics of interest. We topped it off by going down to the Leeds Trinity Kitchen, designed by BH itself, for some delicious burritos.

I was commuting daily from Sheffield to Leeds by train. However, from what I know of the city, everything is affordable and at a reasonable price.

The office was located at a 5 minutes walking distance to the city centre. Being a major Northern city, I would imagine the Nightlife to be diverse in the area.

During my time there, me personably I was not able to get involved in such activities outside of work. However some of the senior members of staff there did take part in a corporate triathlon championship at one point so it does look like there is an opportunity for this. The YEF had also organized a trip to the Peak District but this was to be held after my internship had finished and during term time so I couldn’t make it.