Intern Review

I worked in the structures group in London for 8 weeks. Although I was based in London, I had the opportunity to work on international projects. The placement allowed me to experience the life of a structural engineer. I also got the chance to participate in a couple of social activities organised by the company.

People on my team were generally very approachable and helpful. When I asked them questions, they took time to understand my situation and we came up with solutions to the problems together. There are also a couple of social activities through which I could get to know my colleagues better.

I was given sufficient support and guidance by my supervisors to complete the tasks they gave me, but I was not given too much guidance that I could not learn by working through the problems myself. I think the level of support and guidance was just about right for me.

Not too stressful or busy but not too free.

I feel I was given the right level of responsibility during my placement.

I believe most of the skills I developed through the placement will be beneficial to my study back at university and my future career. I acquired technical skills (e.g. getting to know how to work on a few engineering software/programmes) as well as interpersonal skills which I do not have much chance to explore at university.

People in my team were very helpful and approachable. I really liked the cooperative culture of the team. When I came across any questions, I did not feel discouraged to ask people around me. There are also a lot of social activities for employees to get to know each other.

The 8-week placement was quite well organised. Each placement student was assigned to a line manager. My line manager met me in the first week and we talked about my objectives and expectations of the placement and he arranged for me to site in some meetings according to my interests.

The company organised some training workshops for placement students (e.g. a Revit (Building Information Modelling software) workshop). My line manager also arranged some working opportunities for me according to my interests (e.g. site visits). I also received support from my supervisor and developed valuable skills throughout the placement.

The future employment prospects are quite appealing. From what I heard, quite a few placement students were hired by the company as graduates after their summer placement or year-long placement. However, I had just finished the 8-week placement so I am not sure if I will be offered a graduate role.

Yes! Definitely! All of the placement students were invited to join BuroHappold's Young Engineers Forum (YEF). The YEF organised a lot of social activities in the office for placement students and graduates. I had the opportunity to socialise with other placement students and people working in other teams or offices.

I was based in London and the cost of living and socialising can be quite high (especially in central London). However, there is a canteen in the office which offers food at a affordable price. Food and drinks were also provided during a lot of social events the company organised.

The office is in Soho.

The Young Engineers Forum organised a lot of events for young employees of the company and I had the opportunity to get involved in some of these throughout my 8-week placement. The office is in Soho and there are a lot of events going on in this area as well.