Building Services Electrical Engineering Summer Intern Review

Gained a real sense of achievement when completing tasks and work set by supervisor as they were substantial pieces of work that required time and effort.

All colleagues were very professional but also friendly and approachable if I had any queries.

Occasional times where I was left without work to do, or was not sure how to complete it, however was normally offered support/work by my supervisor or others.

Normally very busy, whether it was continuing work set on a previous day or getting set a new task I was always with work by 10am, which would usually last at least a day.

Was given a fair amount of responsibility on most tasks, however as most of the work I was doing was advanced it required another eye to check over what I had done.

As the work given heavily relied on CAD my skills from University were tested and developed, which has helped me with my degree. Also as some of the work was done in teams it has helped me develop a professional manner in which I can talk to my peers and take the lead on projects.

Most of the work was done individually on CAD software, however the other interns and I met up for lunch on most days, when there was not too much work, and everybody in the office was normally happy to have a chat about work or other issues. The atmosphere overall was very relaxed.

The first day involved getting a tour of one of the offices (as most floors have the same layout as each other) then being introduced to one of our supervisors. After that I would report to my supervisor when I had finished work and needed more and they would usually have something ready within the hour to occupy me, whether it be from an electrical/electronic discipline to civil or mechanical.

As the internship was six weeks long I felt a lot of time was invested into myself. I was taught lots of the basics but was managed well and got to very advanced levels of CAD with certain pieces of software and was given further responsibilities.

Very appealing as they offer competitive graduation schemes and I got a great feeling of the company just from being there for six weeks. I will be looking in to their graduation schemes when I apply next year.

The social scene was great and fairly active, with events normally happening at least once a week. One particular night involved playing softball then going out with colleagues, which was great fun and a good way to get to know people. There was also non-sport related social activities such as meet-ups in the nearby areas and tours around London building followed by a meet at a local pub. None of these were forced upon you nor did you lose out on much by not attending.

The cost of living was very high as was socialising as it was an internship based in central (expensive) London, however the occasional night out was possible and normally a lot of fun!

As it was central London there was never a problem finding a bar or club to go and everybody was very willing to go out and socialise.

There were many sporting events available, such as playing softball in Regent's Park, and there were also tours around London about buildings that Arup has had a hand in consulting on. There were also meet-ups at the nearby square as well as a farmers market that we visited during lunch hours.