Summer Placement Review

I had a great experience at my summer placement. I feel like I was able to help out and I also learned a lot from it

I felt very valued by my colleagues. They involved me in every activity and they were always available to help me with any problem I encountered.

I was given a great support from my supervisor. He was always available to answer all of my questions and he took time to explain things to me in detail.

Some days I had a lot of work, other days I didn't have enough work. However, I was never too stressed or too bored for the amount of work my colleagues gave me.

I was given a medium level of responsibility. I was always confident while completing the tasks that were given to me and I felt like I could've taken on more responsibility.

When I started my placement I didn't know much about sustainability. I learned the concept of it and how to use different softwares during that time. This will definitely help me a lot with my degree since I am currently studying what I learned at Buro Happold.

The atmosphere was always positive. There were different activities during lunch break that made me connect with my colleagues more such as running, ted talks and meetings. Everyone was very friendly towards each other and they all organized activities for the evening or weekend, so that the conversations were not only revolving around work. The people in the office were very busy but they always had time to answer my questions

It was organized well. They organized some events so that it was possible to meet other interns at the company. I didn't meet all of the interns immediately but I after one or two weeks I met a lot of them. The work that I had to do was not too organized, sometimes I didn't have much to do and other times I was very busy.

I think they invested in me quite a bit. They made me do a lot of personal training such as tutorials on the softwares they used and they also took time to explain everything that I didn't understand. In addition, they took me to site visits and meetings so that I could understand better what they were doing.

The future employment prospects within the organization are really appealing. In fact, I would like to get a job with them when I am done with my studies. I had a positive review of my summer placement from the people in my team, so there is a chance I could get a job with them.

Initially I did not know any of my fellow placement students because no one was doing a placement in my team. After a few weeks I was able to meet a group of students during an event organized by the company. We started meeting up more often and having lunch together and I was able to make good friends.

The cost of living and socializing was pretty high because the office of Buro Happold is in central London. However, it was possible for me to save money (for example bringing my lunch from home) and it was not necessary for me to spend money in order to socialize because all activities and events were free.

The Nightlife in central London is really active. There are a lot of things to do and it is easy to meet a lot of people. On Fridays, after work, I would go to the pub in the evenings with my team or we would also get together at someones house to have dinner. It was pretty fun!

London is full of activities that you could get involved with that do not revolve around work. Although I did not engage in many activities after work, I was given opportunities to join social clubs such as running clubs, yoga clubs or other of my favorite hobbies. I did not have to look hard for any type of activity that I wanted to get involve with!