Insights Opening my future in civil and architectural engineering

Hi, I'm Matthew, and I'm about to complete my Civil and Architectural Engineering degree. I recently did a year's Industry Placement at Atkins, a member of the AtkinsRéalis Group.

At the time, I was keen to pursue a career in the Civil Engineering sector, especially in fire engineering and building comfort specialisms.

"A great chance to return to Atkins."

As a QUEST Scholar, I get a paid work placement every summer. In 2018 I completed an eight-week summer placement in Atkins’ Belfast office. The Year in Industry placement was a great chance to return to Atkins, this time in Bristol, and get a longer and more immersive experience.

The best day of my placement

When I presented my new collaborative processes for the Hinkley Point C team. I developed these to streamline the workflow involved in managing key contractual documents. The hope was that the system and procedures would reduce the time currently spent on admin, freeing up the project management team to address the issues more efficiently.

I presented to the project's digital development lead and a member of the Atkins digital team. Receiving positive feedback from both was encouraging. They said the processes had the potential to be rolled out across several additional projects. It was a great feeling, knowing my contribution was valued!

On site and in perspective

Site visits are always exciting days. I find getting out of the office to see my work in person particularly satisfying. I got the chance to visit several water-treatment works, helping me understand the overall processes involved and the site context of the work I was completing.

My proudest day on placement...

Towards the end of my placement, I got to present all the work I did to my team and received encouraging feedback from them. Presenting showed me just how far I'd come in the last three months. And it significantly increased my confidence in speaking to a large group.

Trusted with responsibility

At the beginning of the year, I was understandably involved with a lot of supervised work. However, being asked to lead and develop many project deliverables gave me the confidence to assume more responsibility. As my placement progressed, I was able to work more independently. I ended up coordinating the UK and India offices' production of 3D drainage network models.

Exploring my skills across different roles

I started in water infrastructure, working on several facility refurbishment and planning projects. Beginning in this sector enabled me to learn about typical processes involved in wastewater treatment and drinking water distribution networks.

Working on real projects from day one

I was able to assist with the design and planning applications on a few projects for local utility providers. Drainage design was another key component of daily work in the team. I worked on both large and small schemes, which helped build my understanding of typical solutions. This allowed me to eventually devise and present my own site drainage strategy for a groundwater source treatment site.

The freedom to work where my interests took me

By linking with another industrial placement student in the office, I was able to do a role swap during the year. It would give us the chance to experience two different sides of the Design & Advanced Technology team. After switching roles, I was involved with the heavy civil and structural side of the team.

Gaining experience in nuclear

Working on Hinkley Point C, I began by assisting with the 3D rebar model checking process. After that, I progressed into designing special concrete reinforcement details for the auxiliary buildings on site. I was fortunate to also be involved with the digital development side of the project, giving me the freedom to help develop digital tools for the project management side. These new processes have since been adopted and were able to help streamline the PM workflow, especially after the shift to home working during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The placement opened my eyes to new possibilities

Overall, the experience has been really beneficial. I've been able to see and even try out some civil engineering areas that I didn't know existed. Being a part of the two teams, I've worked with so many kind and helpful people who've mentored and guided me along the way. So, a big thank you to them all.

Leading me to access innovative training

Being involved in both sides of the team has given me a greater insight into the breadth of the profession and the type of projects out there. Water infrastructure and structural specialisms are definitely still on the cards. However, being involved with planning, project management, and digital development processes has encouraged me to further explore these fields. Atkins' continued focus on sustainability is also important to me. It has led me to sign up for my Passivhaus Designer training this summer.

I discovered how much I'm capable of.

It's okay to have a go – and you might even get it right! Thinking back to the start of my year, I can remember being anxious about trying tasks in case I got something wrong. But being let loose and just pitching in was the best way to build my confidence – even when it felt scary and out of my depth. Ending up being responsible for and setting the direction of my own workload was evidence that I was trusted and capable of making a valuable contribution to the team.

Can’t wait to get back on the Graduate Programme

While the roles were challenging, they were also rewarding. I've learnt a lot and have a deeper understanding of the 'in-practice' applications to take back to university. Along the way, I was able to ask others in the team for their help. If they were as stumped as I was, they'd point me in the direction of someone who would know. It won't be too long before I'm back in the office, helping on projects, asking for advice, and asking, "Can you see my screen?"

Discover more about Placement Roles at Atkins.