Communication was the biggest skill I developed during my placement. I learned to talk confidently with clients, suppliers and senior engineers, run workshops, present my work and explain technical ideas in a way anyone can follow. I also got much better at organising myself and juggling several projects at once.

On the technical side, I learned how real treatment plants are designed and assessed, how to read and draw the diagrams engineers use to plan them, and how to turn huge amounts of data into tools people actually use. I also completed over 15 health and safety courses, which changed how I think about designing things safely.

I was able to apply learning from my course to my placement far more than I expected. Topics that felt abstract in lectures, like balancing what goes into and comes out of a process, how chemical reactions behave and how to separate one substance from another, turned out to be exactly what I needed to judge which treatment options would work. My university design projects meant I already understood how a plant is laid out, so when I was asked to work on drawings for a real client I knew where to start.

Recently I received an unconditional offer to join WSP's graduate scheme after I finish my degree, and my goal is to become a Chartered Chemical Engineer with IChemE. My placement counts as my first year of professional experience towards that, and I'll start the scheme already knowing the people, the projects and the standard expected. Because WSP is global with a smooth internal transfer process, I also have the freedom to settle wherever I want as my career grows.