Rachel Burden MEng Civil Engineering, 2015

Graduate Temporary Works Design Engineer with Kier

Southampton introduced me to Kier through SUCCESS, which is a scheme that gives first and second year students the opportunity to be sponsored through university by civil engineering companies. From sitting in the interviews with various employers in my first year, through three summer placements both on site and in the design office, my career and degree have informed each other.

Can you provide a brief summary of your time at Southampton?

I chose the university because it was one of the top universities for engineering in the country when I applied. Not only that, but the welcome I was given on the Open Day I attended made it stand out from all the other universities I looked at.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the University of Southampton. The halls system eased me into independent living, and meant that I met lots of people quickly when settling in, before choosing a group I got along with to find a student house with in my second year. There is a great feel on campus, with so many different interests, activities and cultures concentrated in a buzzing hub. This meant I was given me so many different opportunities to get involved in university life, including taking up fencing, a sport which I continue to this day.

What was the highlight of your time as a Southampton student?

From the moment I set foot in my room in halls, and met my new flatmates, to the day myself and my course mates donned our graduation gowns, I met some great people who have since become life-long friends. The University is a friendly place, and with so many different clubs and societies, there are many ways to get to know new people and make friends outside of your course or halls.

What did you enjoy most about your course?

The course was very varied. The different subjects covered a range of practical, hands on activities and theoretical, class based learning. In particular, the Constructionarium trip in first year gave me real, hands on, construction experience, as well as an opportunity to really bond with the rest of my course mates.

What were your supervisors like? Did you find them supportive?

My supervisors were all very helpful, willing to answer questions and aid in some of the trickier aspects of my degree. It was great to work with people who are at the top of their field, and who are often involved in exciting research or projects as part of the wider engineering community.

How did the facilities available at the University help you with your research and project work?

There are some great practical testing facilities on campus, such as the hydraulics flumes, and heavy structures labs that we used for lab tests in our first two years. I was also lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with CT scanning technology as part of my individual project in my third year.

As well as labs, there are computer suites dedicated to the Engineering Faculty on campus, which meant you didn’t have to download every piece of engineering software onto your laptop, as there was generally a computer that already had it. This was particularly important for some of the more expensive or larger programmes that we occasionally needed for our coursework.

What did you think of the other facilities on campus?

There are a wide range of facilities on campus, from places to study with friends, to areas to relax in. The Hartley Library has a lot of working space, and meeting rooms ideal for group work. There are a number of cafes and bars as well, my favourite being the Bridge café, which was a really comfy area for a coffee, with areas suitable for working on my laptop, which meant I could do a quick bit of work between lectures with my friends. Other great facilities on campus included the Stags pub, and the Jubilee Sports centre.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I have been working for Kier for a year as a temporary works designer, as part of their in-house design team. Already, I have had the opportunity to work on temporary works designs for some high profile infrastructure jobs, such as Crossrail and Hinkley Point C, as well as smaller local jobs, such as schools. The work is really varied; I have been able to get stuck in on many different design briefs, and interface directly with construction sites across the country. I was also involved in an overnight railway bridge possession, to assess the need for future works, which was very interesting, despite staying up all night!

In what ways does the course you took at Southampton help you within your career?

To begin with, Southampton introduced me to Kier through SUCCESS, which is a scheme that gives first and second year students the opportunity to be sponsored through university by civil engineering companies. From sitting in the interviews with various employers in my first year, through three summer placements both on site and in the design office, my career and degree have informed each other. My summer placements with Kier gave me an insight into the industry to take back to the classroom, and put some of my learning into context. Since graduating, I have been employed in Kier’s in-house design team, which specialises in temporary works.

As a temporary works designer, I am at the threshold of where design meets construction, and have had to utilise the theoretical aspects of my degree, such as structural engineering, as well as the more practical construction based learning gained in the Constructionarium and other modules. The course at Southampton has given me a firm rooting in both practical and theoretical areas of engineering, and I regularly refer back to course notes during my work.

What advice would you offer to potential students?

Make the most of the opportunities you are given, and if you can, try and get some practical experience, whether through summer placements or a year in industry. I was terrified before my first summer placement on a construction site, but in the end, I loved it! My placements gave me an idea of where I wanted to end up working, and having that previous experience made the transition from university to industry much easier, because I knew the sort of thing to expect. Not only that, my placements helped me to make some good connections within Kier, to the extent that the department I now work for offered me the job without me having to apply specifically to them.