2018 is the Year of Engineering and throughout the year so far, we have seen government work with hundreds of businesses to raise the profile of engineering among young people, their parents and their teachers.
Pledging support for the year-long, national campaign back in January, Waldeck has been sharing stories, challenges and opportunities from our very own engineers and graduate engineers to inspire young people.
Following the Year of Engineering theme ‘Summer of Engineering’, we interviewed one of our summer placements, Jack Smith, who has been embedded in one of our project teams in Newark, here’s what he had to tell us:
Name: Jack Smith
AS and A Levels: Physics, Maths, Biology and PE
University: Currently studying for a MEng in Civil Engineering at Newcastle University and will be going into my 4th and final year in September.
Dissertation Topic: My topic is yet to be allocated but my top choice is to investigate: ‘Innovative methods for rapidly surveying waterborne hazards in emergencies’.
Please provide a brief overview of your time at Waldeck
During my summer at Waldeck, I’ve primarily been involved with the Doncaster Delivery Unit Improvement Programme and the Norwich Crown Point Depot projects. My main roles have been to hand check specific elements of design alongside the senior engineers and analyse forces in frames with programmes such as Master Suite.
I was also given the opportunity to propose my own design solutions using AutoCAD for a Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) scheme and a retaining wall.
What first interested you in engineering?
When I was younger, I was always interested in science and understanding how things work, but wanted to be able to help people and solve real-world issues, which made me realise that Civil Engineering was an ideal mix of both of these aspects.
What has been your highlight working for Waldeck?
I have really enjoyed my time at Waldeck, my highlight has been to be able to make use of my skills learnt from University and put these into practice in real life projects, whilst also being able to pick the brains of the more experienced engineers in the workplace.
What are your plans for the future?
Ultimately my career goal is to become a Chartered Engineer and be able to travel and work abroad on exciting projects.
In the meantime, I’ll complete my masters and see where it can take me!
In the face of a skills gap and lack of people choosing the engineering career path, how would you inspire an engineer?
I’d say if you are considering taking the engineering route, think about what interests you the most, for me I saw how engineering roles are so varied, creative and innovative, no two days are the same, you have the opportunity to put your ideas into practice and see something you envisioned come to light in a real life working environment.
Just go for it!