This month 2 of our students were offered the opportunity by Stuart Brown (Construction Director) to go and work at Festival Gardens on the construction site with Vinci Construction UK. This unique opportunity allowed our students to work alongside professional engineers, led by David Wilshire (Construction Manager).
Our first student who went to the site was Joe Mooney and he got an insight into the financial side of corporate management, GPS surveying and further experience in how CAD is used to produce data sheets. When using the GPS surveying equipment (image on the right) he was able to use his problem solving and creative skills to help onsite engineers circumnavigate different coordinates around the site. After doing this he was then able to see how this data was processed and put into AutoCAD and further used to calculate how much soil has been evacuated from the site for the Client to see on a data sheet. When Joe was looking at the financial side of things he saw where his maths skills could be utilised in a future career, He was also given the opportunity to price up a job for the client.
Overall from this unique opportunity Joe has not only gained knowledge of the different processes taking place in the engineering industry but he also said it has “broadened my horizons looking at a career in not only mechanical, but civil engineering, as well as a possible financial pathway.”
The Second student who went to site was Hannah Drummond and she was able to learn how to to use various pieces of equipment such as an EDM device (electronic distance measurement), GPS surveying equipment (GNSS) as well as learning how CAD is used in engineering to do calculations and create data sheets. Using the EDM equipment was interesting to Hannah as it showed her not only how to use the equipment but also showed her the importance of using tolerances in measuring and how to take them into account to make sure what you are doing is as accurate as possible. Hannah was given the opportunity to use GPS surveying equipment and updated the data sheet which Joe had been working on also.
This has inspired her to continue to pursue a future career in civil engineering as she found the experience so eye opening and fascinating that she didn’t want to leave, but rather continue to learn more from all the engineers.