Millie
Dixey

Millie made it to the final of the Engineers Without Border competition, which involved her submitting a report as part of a coursework module in her second year on the course. She is now on her placement year with Vinci, a specialist civil engineering, construction and facilities management company.

Have you been involved in any exciting live projects or industry competitions? Can you tell us a bit more about what you had to do?

"As part of our coursework we were to enter into the Engineers Without Borders; Design for the People Challenge, this involved creating a project to improve the quality of life in Kibera, a slum outside Nairobi in Kenya. We submitted a report as part of coursework which was then submitted to the competition itself. Once we had found out we were through to the finals, we polished up our report, made a few small models and leaflets for our stand, and created a presentation about our project.

Have you had any guest speakers from industry visiting as part of your course? What made it a useful experience?

"Yes, we've have had many guest lecturers on our course. The most interesting speakers have been from the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), which helped us with continuous professional development.

Has your course included any trips? Where did you go?

"We went on a field trip to the Lake District in the summer of 2017. We were surveying all week and having struggled with the practicals all year, after a week of surveying all day every day it finally stuck.

Have you completed any work placements? What did you do day-to-day?

"Yes, I worked at Vinci for 3 weeks, in the summer of 2017. I was on site with the team at a student accommodation block in Coventry. My day to day work involved lots of health and safety checks, setting out for works and checking steel rebar from drawings. I am now working with the company on my industrial year’s placement on a Nottingham student accommodation.

What advice would you give to a prospective student thinking about studying the course?

"I would advise prospective students to complete a summer placement at some point during their course, as it brings together all the aspects of the course into an applied area. NTU is very good at offering the applied and practical sides of the subject.

What do you like about studying and living in Nottingham?

"I like the relatively small campus as it makes the university experience more personal. Nottingham is also a great city not only for socialising and leisure, but also the built environment in Nottingham inspires many of my projects."