Vacation Student Review

I really enjoyed my time at Arup as part of the mechanical team. I learned what the role of a mechanical engineer is within building services, how the company operates and the importance of Arup's values. Throughout my placement, there was a sports day, some parties and lunchtime talks, so there were plenty of opportunities to make friends and develop soft skills.

Every piece of work I produced (even the most basic of tasks) was appreciated by everyone I worked for. It was very gratifying to receive praise from senior engineers after completing vital calculations to complete a report on time or producing drawings that would be used in a report to be sent to the client. Even in meetings the project manager would point out who produced what in the meeting and assign work (at the appropriate level of difficulty) to each person. I never felt I was asked to do something incredibly challenging but at the same time, I felt I could have done more.

My supervisor (and everyone else I worked with) were extremely patient with me and incredibly helpful during my placement. I always felt that there was someone I could ask who would be happy to help, even if that meant they had to walk halfway across the office to my desk to help me. When I first started, my supervisor and my team didn't expect me to contribute massively immediately to the projects I was working on; instead, they let me focus on learning the software, in my own time, while providing me tasks that I was comfortable doing (e.g. fixing engineering drawings using a PDF editor).

Some days were very busy while others not so much. It was rare for me to stay behind after work to complete a task. If I didn't have much work to do I would complete some courses from Arup University. Most of the time I did have some work to do but there were times when I didn't have much to do.

This varied quite a bit. Simple tasks such as fixing a presentation or drawings weren't too difficult and could be easily fixed later if I made a mistake. Other tasks such as completing analysis of apartment buildings and doing the calculations for a report were critical and hence I had quite a large responsibility. However, the tasks in which I had a larger responsibility I felt I had enjoyed the most as I felt I was contributing to the project(s).

This placement helped me to improve my organisation skills and encouraged me to complete tasks to deadlines. The placement provided me with valuable experience as to what it is like to work in a building engineering company and will help me make an informed career choice when I graduate from university. It was great to experience what it's like to be in team meetings for real-life projects and how similar they are to team meetings at uni.

It was a very relaxed environment. Everyone was super nice, happy and helpful while remaining professional. People would often bring in treats to share with the office for special occasions and there would always be free snacks on a Friday afternoon. I always felt comfortable in my time in the office and enjoyed my time there.

The first day included an induction (mostly completing compulsory online courses) and meeting members of my team. There was no fixed structure (e.g. doing task x for project y for z days) - I just was a supporting hand for projects which were happening at the time. How much work I was given depended on the current stage of the project and any upcoming deadlines. The amount of work I received was not consistent, but after speaking to some other people in the office, this was the case year-round. Towards the end of the internship, I had to give a presentation on the projects I had been working on during my placement and I also had to write a report.

Arup University offers many courses for personal development such as unconscious bias training. Arup would also regularly schedule lunchtime talks. I attended one about giving effective presentations which I found really helpful. I developed soft skills whilst on the job but I wasn't asked to spend time to focus on them.

After completing an internship at Arup, it is my understanding that you can "fast-track" future applications if you would like to work for Arup in the future. As much as the engineers would like me to come back, I still have to go through the application process again (including interview) but they have a record of my performance which may help them to decide to hire me or not.

Yes, I would regularly have lunch with my fellow interns and we attended work parties together. We also made friends with the industrial trainees and apprentices. We were also regularly invited to the pub after work and Friday treats brought the whole office floor together where we would often congratulate members of staff who were leaving.

I worked at Arup's London office where rent is naturally very expensive. Using the tube cost me roughly £50 a week. The price of pints in the pubs nearby was about £5. Arup's social events had a small entry fee (£5-7) but would have free food, unlimited drinks and live music.

London is one of the best nightlife cities in the country. There are many things to do such as rooftop bars, clubs, pubs and much more. The night tube on the weekends helps to get home easily late at night. However, everything is very expensive so you have to be careful where you go.

Yes, during my placement there was a sports day, work parties and talks by guest speakers which were regularly held either during lunch of after work. There were also football teams for each building engineering team who would compete each week. The scores of the games would be announced in the weekly newsletter.