I spent my year in industry as an Intern Process Engineer in WSP's water team in London. Placements at WSP are very competitive, so I knew I had to stand out. I prepared my own presentation and delivered it at the end of my interview when they asked if I had any questions, even though nobody had asked for one, and I was offered the role.

During my placement, I worked on real projects for some of the UK's biggest water companies. I helped compare greener, nature-based ways of cleaning wastewater for South West Water, built a tool that brought together data from over 800 treatment sites for Welsh Water, and looked at ways to treat polluted water from old mines. I also helped design an upgrade to a treatment works, with my work going straight to the client, and co-hosted a workshop with Thames Water and other industry partners.

I was given real responsibility early on. My work went to clients and fed into actual design decisions, so I learned how a consultancy takes a project from first ideas through to detailed design, and how engineers from different disciplines work together to get there. Based on the strength of my work during the year, WSP chose to sponsor the rest of my degree through its Chemical Engineering Scholarship.