March 23, 2023, by Postgraduate Placements Nottingham

Discovering the value of good company culture

Shafira Andriani shares her experiences of a postgraduate placement at Leonard Design Architects.


Shafira

I had just completed my master’s study and was waiting for graduation when the placement opportunity knocked. I first stepped foot in the UK in 2021 full of passion to pursue study in MArch Architecture and Sustainable Design. Being able to study Architecture has been a great aspiration since I finished high school, which then finally came to happen with the help of the University of Nottingham scholarship. My journey to find this placement opportunity was unexpected. I found out about the placement project through my coursemate who was supposed to take the placement. However, a change of plan occurred and I was offered the placement instead. I seized the opportunity.

The short placement lasted for 200 hours, which I finished in December 2022. The company that hosted the placement was an architecture practice in Nottingham, Leonard Design Architects. Since I did hybrid working, I found the flexibility of the working patterns really suited my convenience. The placement project was about an ongoing residential project aiming for net zero carbon building standards. My responsibility was to perform energy and carbon assessments which yielded a report at the end. I was supervised by a Project Architect in charge of fostering sustainability on the company’s projects. Throughout the placement, I had a lot of discussions with my supervisor, university colleagues and professor. I also got some support from external parties of another company, such as ARUP, linked through my supervisor.

“the thing that amazed me the most was the company’s culture on how they treated each other. Put simply, asking colleagues how is their weekend going, offering refreshments during work regardless of their position, being kind to everyone; that touched me the most.”

At first, I felt the work was a bit challenging, as I had to learn the project brief fast and start to do some research and assessments as soon as possible. The core of the assessment was conducting simulations through software which I found a bit difficult as the company was also new to the software I used, so I needed to adapt to the self-learning process. Although the challenge was there, my supervisor gave me a lot of support. I experienced the site visit of another project with similar constructions which helped me in learning the systems in-hand. I also enjoyed the regular meetings that the company had discussing other projects; which gave me a general idea of how to work effectively. I have to admit the thing that amazed me the most was the company’s culture on how they treated each other. Put simply, asking colleagues how is their weekend going, offering refreshments during work regardless of their position, being kind to everyone; that touched me the most.

Overall, my placement experience has developed my analytical skills through self-learning and the ability to build rapport with many professionals with whom I still keep in touch. It allowed me to learn knowledge that I did not get in my study which will be beneficial for my future career. The strong emphasis on communicating effectively and adequately helped me to deliver presentations and ideas confidently followed by a robust report, so my supervisor was really pleased.

To those who are keen on doing a placement to gain transferable skills during your study, I strongly suggest getting the best advice on available opportunities through the Researcher Academy. The placement is the best way to kick-start your career and step ahead as a student, so you will be more than just a graduate upon your study. If anyone is interested to know more about my experience on it, kindly contact me through LinkedIn and I’d be more than happy to give you some tips.


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