Shannon, Traffic Engineer

Shannon (Age 26)

Traffic Engineer

As part of our 'Women in the Built Environment' campaign, we will be showcasing a series of successful women over a variety of posts each Monday. Today, we talked to Shannon who is a Traffic Engineer for BWB.

" As a child, I was always interested in building and understanding the mechanisms of everyday objects. At school, I took particular interest in Maths, Sciences and creative subjects, which understandably supported my future choices. 

After leaving Secondary school I had no clue what direction I wanted to go forward with, and so continued to study A-levels at College (Maths, Physics, Economics and English Language). However, I did not enjoy my studies as I found they were overly complex and involved unvaried teaching methods, this led to boredom and eventually poor attendance.

Upon completion of the first year, I decided to stop my A-level studies and study something with clear direction and obvious career opportunities. I went on to study a National Diploma in Construction (which I thoroughly enjoyed), met a group of like-minded people, engaged with the teaching methods and achieved Distinction-Distinction-Merit! From this point, I knew what industry my future was heading toward; however, I was still unsure what field to continue.

My lecturer advised me to do Civil Engineering but me, being an 18-year-old teenager, decided to ignore his advice and continue studies in Architecture. I moved to Bournemouth, went to an Arts Institute and had the time of my life… outside of my lectures. In my lectures, I was struggling to form bonds with the other students in my class. I did, however, make excellent friends with other creative students at the Institute whom I had more in common with.

I completed two years of my Architecture degree and was no longer enjoying either aspect of living away from home. It’s so much fun being a student but sometimes living conditions can be unfavorable. I moved back home in Nottingham and started looking for a job within the construction industry with prospects. I got the position of ‘Trainee Technician’ at BWB Consulting and they assured me support in completing any training I wished to complete. So, I excitedly started at BWB in September 2012 and in June 2013 I had a baby (a little girl).

My life completely changed and I became more determined to be a good role model for my daughter. I wanted to achieve great things and provide her with everything. When she was just 3-months old I started on my 4-year part-time Civil Engineering Degree at Nottingham Trent University - I was on maternity leave at the time! However, years 2 to 4 involved juggling working 3 days at BWB, going to university on 1 day, looking after my daughter on the other day and completing coursework and revision in the evening and weekends between bedtimes, nursery, illnesses etc. It was very demanding, for a good proportion I even went to university on one day over the weekend just to keep up! I was exhausted and at times I thought I couldn’t do it!

But I did it and I am about to graduate with a 2:1 in Civil Engineering. I couldn’t be more proud of myself, as are all my family. I know that in the future my daughter will know she can do anything she wants and won’t let anything hold her back. I will encourage her to not let gender stereotypes hold her back from her aspirations and that women should feel empowered by emerging equal opportunities.

Although men and women are becoming much more equal in the workplace, my journey has not been without some elements of sexism and poor levels of understanding.

On a couple of occasions, male students would make snide comments about women doing Civil Engineering or would not group with us for group projects. But we rose to the challenge by forming a girl group and we regularly got better grades. In addition to this, when I returned from maternity leave there were a few issues settling back into work patterns as most of my colleagues were male and weren’t familiar with the type of flexibility required by a new mother. Fortunately, we all quickly got the hang of it and I felt well supported.

In the workplace, there are definitely lower levels of female associates/directors and this is likely linked to women putting careers on hold to think about a family, and the increased commitments associated with this. So, to reach these positions women have to exert themselves even harder.

I have found that people make assumptions about me because of the way I appear. I am a young woman, with alternative fashion sense who had a baby at 22! I love seeing the look on people’s faces when I tell them I am a Civil Engineer!


If Shannon's story has inspired you, and you are a female Post-16 or college student passionate about a career in property, construction, architecture or civil engineering, please book onto our 'Women in the Built Environment' event. This is an incredible opportunity to get a head start and network with industry professionals. You can find more information about this here

Helen, Infrastructure Engineer

Helen, Infrastructure Engineer, 29

As part of our 'Women in the Built Environment' campaign, we will be showcasing a series of successful women over a variety of posts each Monday. Today, we talked to Helen who is an Infrastructure Engineer for BWB.

" After finishing my GCSEs, I decided to study Maths, Physics and Biology A Levels. I was interested in becoming a Civil Engineer after speaking to a family friend that had chosen similar A Levels to myself and was studying Civil Engineering at university.

Upon completion of my A Levels, I decided to take a year out to do some travelling which included working in an orphanage in the Dominican Republic in 6 weeks, which I found...

For women who want to build their future

If you are a female student in sixth form or college, passionate about a career in property, construction, architecture or civil engineering then we have the perfect opportunity for you.

On Thursday 9 November, Nottingham Trent University is inviting you to 'Women in the Built Environment' event. This is an amazing chance for you to connect and network with industry professionals, ask questions and gain advice.

A number of employers attending for discussions and networking include FranklinEllis Architects; Gleeds; Innes England; DLP Planning; Countrywide Surveying Services; Roythornes Solicitors; Arcadis; Galliford Try; BWB Consulting; Interserve Construction; Turner & Townsend; Berkeley Group; Segro plus more TBC.

There will also be a chance to hear about NTU's 'Women in the Built Environment' Summer Internship that has granted previous students with study-based sponsorships and job opportunities. You can find out more about this here.

In conjunction with this event, we will be showcasing a variety of 'Women in the Built Environment' blog posts, featuring women's stories and experience of the field. This will give you an insight into their day-to-day job activities and how they tackle issues such as sexism in male-dominated areas of work. These will be posted every Monday until the end of this month - so stay tuned for that.

Please book your place at this event by emailing Esther.Triffitt@ntu.ac.uk

#NTUDEGREESHOW

Nottingham Trent University is currently buzzing with creative energy as the Art & Design graduates prep their work for #NTUDEGREESHOW!

Last week, the fashion students showcased their work in a series of catwalks which, we can confirm, were as excellent as ever.

Their work is still up in Newton if you haven't yet seen it and we couldn't miss the opportunity to take a few snaps of their unique and inspiring pieces to give you a little taster...

Collection by Natasha Flannery

The Secret To Making A Difference...

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Did you know that Walt Disney died before Disney World in Florida opened?

A reporter interviewed his brother, Roy, when the park opened and said to Roy

"It was unfortunate that Walt did not live to see Disney World built."

As quick as a flash, his brother replied with

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Now, the secret of making a difference is there is no secret but using your imagination is a great place to start.

Walt was able to create a mental image in his head about what Disney World would look like...

...and we're sure that when you read the story about Walt Disney, you were able to create a mental image in your head!

17 Things You Need To Know About University

1. Budget your money.

It's time to get responsible! So many people blow all of their student loan in Freshers' Week and are left with nothing. If you don't want to spend your first year working debts off or grovelling to your parents, give yourself a set amount each week.

2. Visit the University and city you'll be studying before you get there.

If you're already feeling nervous about going to University, it will be 10 times worse if you're heading to a completely unknown place. Get to know (and love) where you'll be studying, it can only help.

My NTU finance work placement.

Hi my name is Mackenzie Russell and I participated in a work experience placement as a Finance Assistant from 27^th June – 1^st July. I am a year 10 student. And I decided to take a work experience placement because I wanted to know what it was like to work in a professional environment and I thought that the business environment would be one of the most professional.  I also enjoy and have a keen interest in business so I thought that this placement best suited me. Because of this I worked in the Finance Department of the university, where I learnt all about finance and the different aspects of it. This will be a daily review about my work experience throughout the week.

Monday

At the computer on my first day.

On Monday, I met up with Claire Davies, my supervisor for the week. We introduced ourselves so that we got to know about each other. We talked about our interests and I asked her questions about the university, whilst she showed me around the campus. Firstly, we walked to Information Systems (IS), where I went to get my own login account. I felt like an actual worker. Afterwards we went down to the Newton-Arkwright buildings, where I got my own card that would help me get into secured places that only staff could get into. Once we had finished that, Claire introduced me to the Finance Department. Everyone welcomed me. I felt nervous at first but everyone was extremely kind. Now came my first job - Procurement. I met Susan in the Procurement area of the department where she explained to me what Procurement was and what she does at the university, she talked to me about the tender process and how to fill out a tender form. I then had lunch afterwards. After lunch I went back to Susan and she introduced me to e5, a program software that enabled you to complete and carry out forms, this was used for things such as tendering, invoicing and more. I enjoyed my first day as an assistant and I learned many new advanced things that I would never learn at school. I am glad I am on this placement as I can apply it into my knowledge at school.

Tuesday

I was looking forward to coming in now as I really enjoyed myself on Monday. I was intrigued to find out more about my first session - Payroll. I headed over to payroll where Denise told me what payroll was and how to manage staff salaries. We worked out the factors affecting salary and calculated the net per month. This was very interesting. Afterwards I went over to Business Law and Social Sciences (BLSS) with Kam to learn about BLSS Finance. After learning about this area I had lunch. After lunch I learnt about Financial Services with Vicky Sellars and some of her team, Nisha and Paddy. Nisha told me about expenses and that her job is to confirm individual’s payments on behalf of the University like accounting costs for lecturers’ research and that they have to make an invoice for costs. Also she told me that she sets the budget for the year ahead and if it is over budget she shows them where it went wrong on an advised forecast. I then met Paddy who showed me an invoicing spreadsheet that he puts on e5 which is automatically produced into and invoice pdf document. He also showed me financial performance reports which show me previous expenditure. Finally he showed me a commitment report which is where the University owes money and says that they haven’t invoiced yet and that they need to invoice before the end of the year. I had a go at locating the invoices and financial reports and checking them and updating them.

Wednesday

On Wednesday morning I attended meetings with my supervisor Claire to get a feel of what business meetings were like. It was as I expected, very professional. The first meeting was about NTU’s Supplier Forum and Recognition Awards 2017. We met up with Hanh, a NTU Masters student and the Business School’s event planners.

The subsequent meeting was discussing a policy for Modern Slavery in relation to NTU’s supply chains where we met with Mark Lucas, Purchasing Manager and Paul Andrew, Head of Procurement. We had meetings up until lunch then after lunch, I met up with Jenny Henry of Corporate Accounts (Professional Services) where she spoke about her job. She told me that she sets budget allocations to different departments in the University. The University’s financial period is from August to July so she was working towards the end of the year and finalising checks. She said that she monitors the spending of the departments and ensures that there is no overspending by the budget holders (departments). She manages this through systems such as Cognos Powerplay and e5 which check that nothing is miscoded. An e5 is used to input the budget into the system at the start of the year.

Then I met the Director of Finance, James Lacey who told me about his job and that he is on the University’s Executive Team and the Board of Directors. The Head of Procurement, Payroll, Head of Management Accounting (Invoices) and the Head of Accountants amongst others all report to him. He said that whilst the Finance functions are being managed by his team he has to look ahead to the Financial Strategy and plan. He advised me to keep working hard and go to University so that one day I could be in his position. This really motivated me and now I am going to study hard.

Thursday

 Boots library roof garden. 

On Thursday I met Faysal who showed me around the campus and talked to me about student life. He is a placement student at NTU so is classed as a member of University staff. He is a student studying Finance on a sandwich degree where he studies for one year, then has a work placement for a year before returning to complete his final year degree. He showed me around places I had never been before when visiting with school and this was very interesting. Then during lunchtime, Claire had organised for me to go and play basketball with the staff Basketball Team. Cen, a basketball player introduced me to everyone and I met Richard, Victor and many others. I really enjoyed it. I thought it was really nice that Claire had arranged this as she knew that I played basketball by looking at my CV. Afterwards Cen told me that she worked in the same building as me in the marketing department so I arranged to meet her on Friday to give me an insight into marketing. She also invited me to basketball training with her and the team on Friday. After lunch I went back to Paddy again and did some scanning of invoices for uploading onto the systems databases.

Friday

 The finance department. 

Friday was a sad day as it was my last day and I didn’t want to leave. I thoroughly enjoyed the placement so much. However before my first task, Joseph, from security came up to me and complimented me on my basketball as he was watching me on Thursday. Again, it was really nice that he took his time to come and speak to me. The staff here at NTU are the most friendliest staff ever! On Friday morning, I learnt about student planning with Lisa, where she told me about Banner - a student centre for courses and databases. She uses Cognos for reports on students. She said that her job was to do reports and spreadsheets about students and check statistics for the University. Then later on I met Cen downstairs where she told me about marketing and that she publishes the University prospectus and how they produce it. She also introduced me to her placement student Joe who told me that he was also in his working year. He said that he originally did finance but decided to do marketing instead as it allowed him to express his creativity. Afterwards me and Cen went down to the basketball courts at the Students Union and played basketball. I then came back and gave everyone some chocolates as a way of thanking them for having me and gave them my secret card!

I have really enjoyed this placement and I definitely recommend this to friends.

Family Saturday - University Extravaganza

On Saturday 7^th May the Nottingham Trent University (NTU) Outreach Team welcomed Year 5 and 6 pupils from local primary schools and their families to our Family Saturday event.

It’s never too early to start thinking about the future, so in addition to our Year 5 and 6 sessions in the classroom we wanted to invite our primary pupils along with all the family to our City Campus to find out about University. The event gave families the opportunity not only to find out about University, but also how learning together as a family can help both children and adults to learn and develop new skills. It was great to see so many parents interested in university too. Many adults feel it’s too late for them to go to university, but that’s definitely not the case- the oldest student to start at NTU was 84 years old!

Some of the family's playing a true or false game about university. 

As part of the day our families got to try out some of the subjects they could study at university in our Law and International Relations tasters, delivered by our enthusiastic student ambassadors. The Law taster got our families scratching their heads about some of the weird and wonderful laws that still exist today. Whilst there were a few surprises in the International Relations taster about how rich some countries actually are.

Family's learning about the subjects which can be studied at university.

There were laughs all round as our families dressed up and grabbed their props for our ‘dream job photo booth’. Families discussed their dream jobs- from explorer to criminal lawyer- and with the help of our staff and students ambassadors got some helpful advice on how they might get there - finished off of course with a few family selfies! You may have seen some of our competition entries for the best picture on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. After enjoying an afternoon learning as a family we also helped the families to find future opportunities to learn about things that interest them, so the fun can continue.

 Some of the fantastic entries we had from the day.

Finally the event came to its conclusion by testing what our guests had found out about family learning throughout the day with our interactive quiz. It got very competitive and it was great to see how much all our families had remembered!     

It was a fantastic day and we loved having so many of you come to visit we can’t wait for next year already!

Ambers Tough Mudder Challenge!

Hi, I’m Amber Member of the Schools Liaison Team at NTU.

Recently, I’ve been getting ready to face a series of adrenaline-pumping challenges and obstacles called Tough Mudder! 

Amongst these are:

·      Lung-busting hills.

·      Woodlands.

·      Water and, tons and tons of mud!

My reasons for taking part:

After taking on the Tough Mudder challenge last year I unfortunately did not manage to complete the course.  I pride myself on the growth mind set of ‘If you fail, get back up and try again’ so I have decided to come back fighting for another year.

My main motivation for the challenge this year has been NTU international volunteering. I am currently volunteering as a team leader for NTU students travelling to Romania to volunteer at a summer school called ‘Little Johns House’ in August. Little Johns House is a Charity set up in Romania to support Romanian Orphans with mental and physical impairments.

 Whilst in Romania we will be engaging the children in lots of fun and exciting activities and enriching experiences involving social interaction, experimental play, music and art therapy. The summer school projects are made possible solely by the help of volunteers and international donations. Therefore, I have been asking for sponsorship to do Tough Mudder as my own personal fundraising for the charity and am not only doing the challenge for myself but also for the children supported by Little John’s House.

Amber will be running the Tough Mudder Saturday the 21^st of May 2016. If you wish to donate her charity page is:  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AmberPage1

Our work experience at NTU

Outside the office on the first day

Hi our names are Haidar and Tinashe and we are here doing our year 10 week of work experience at Trent University in the department Of Schools, Colleges and Community Outreach. In this department they specialise in making and maintaining relationships with the outside.

We have been based in the progression team who work on the welcome week schemes, running work experience for students, the children’s university, social media and lastly organising specific events for the whole of the university. In this team there are 6 members, our supervisor Kirsty Kelly-Lewin, Laura H, Paul, Zoe, Nasser and Laura B.

Progression team doing a focus activity

Monday: On the first day we were introduced to all of the staff and were briefly told what their jobs consisted of – the staff were very welcoming and friendly. We then attended the progress team meeting where we listened in to the conversations and heard about the different concepts that they had newly introduced into their meetings. Afterwards we went with Julian to Bilborough College and observed a class on ‘surviving uni’. Soon after, we were shown around the campus with a student ambassador.

Tuesday: we were sent into the finance and purchasing department where we were shown around each desk and told what their jobs consisted of. Afterwards we went to NUAST with Danielle for a class on ‘interview skills’. Where we got to see an accounting seminar till the end of the day.

Looking at books in the library 

 Wednesday: we started off with a welcome week task and then went into the finance department to meet the payroll team. After half an hour with the payroll team we both filled out the skills sheets. We sat down with Katie Todd who gave us an overview on the ambassador scheme where students

get paid to do jobs for the university in their own time. Then we went to the library to take photos for the blog.

Thursday: we carried on with the welcoming task and reported back our findings to our supervisor. We were then taught how to use Microsoft excel by Tash Neale and then given a data entry task. Later on, we went with Amber Page to NCN for a talk on ‘Higher Education and researching your options’ with year 12s.

In the board room working on budgeting

 Friday: We sat with Paul and had a video overview and then edited some videos he had taken before. Soon after, we sat with Jo Wheatcroft and worked on a budget task which in our opinion was great. We had lots of fun doing another budget task later with Lucy Judd and presented it in the meeting room to her. And lastly we had an interesting talk with Nasser Latif about work life and other important things to remember whilst being there.

All in all, we enjoyed our work experience a lot and would recommend it to other students looking for placements.

Author: Chitsatso Tinashe & Mahmood, Haidar 

Editor(s): Declan Manning

Pathways to Law launch

On the 4^th of November 2015 I attended the launch for our new group of pathways to law students. This was very exciting as it was the first time we got to see the possible new barristers and lawyers of the future. With me was a small group of past Pathways to Law students to help tell new students why it was the right ‘pathway’ to their future.

Food & Coffee

The event kicked off with food coffee an information folder and a little chatting amongst the previous pathways and new cohort of students.

Welcoming

Welcoming the new students was our pathways team to introduce themselves and the journey that the students will be going on for the next two years. Covering the different events and the reason for attending Pathways to Law.

The Pathways team however could only explain so much as academics, therefore this was shortly followed by current university students studying law who attended Pathways to Law last year. Explaining their experiences from the journey and how it both helped them and their progression into studying law.

Icebreakers & Information on University

From here on families and students involved in Pathways to Law were divided and while parents went to a higher education finance talk. Students took part in active icebreakers to create a talking point for students and help them get to know each other.

Talk & Questions

After all the excitement and information the night drew to a close with a little talk about what’s to come for the students and finally answering any questions still held. 

Your guide to being a Student Ambassador

It's simply the best!

Being a Student Ambassador was one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things I did whilst studying at Nottingham Trent and I would highly recommend applying to anyone. The best thing about the role is the amount of flexibility that it offers. If you are too busy one month to do any events then this does not matter, there is no minimum amount of hours that you have to subscribe to and as a student this is what matters. During my final year at university I did not do a single event for about six months due to the heavy work load of my studies but once they were finished I was able to come back and subscribe to as many events as I could.

It's a great way to spend your summer

The best time to be a Student Ambassador is during the summer, if you are able to stay in Nottingham after the year is finished then I would recommend doing so. During the two summers after my second and third year I worked the busiest block for the School, College and Community Outreach Team. Different schools around Nottingham came to visit the university every day for a month. The highlight of the visit block, however, is always the summer residential's at the end of the month. Student Ambassadors support these events by sharing with students their own experiences of what higher education is about. However, being paid to sleep, eat dominoes, go bowling and take part in quizzes certainly is an added bonus.

Variety is the spice of life!

There are a vast amount of different events that Student Ambassadors support throughout the year, from going into schools and colleges leading a variety of activities, to supporting with university Open Days and UCAS Clearing. There are events available to suit any type of person as Student Ambassadors support events aimed at all year groups from Years 5 to 13.

The people!

The one thing you can guarantee as a Student Ambassador is that you will get to work with some of the greatest people. During my time as a Student Ambassador the people I have worked with have become my closest friends, friends I will stay in contact with long into the future. As well as the other Student Ambassadors, the Outreach officers who lead the events are outgoing and easy to get along with making the events extremely enjoyable. The camaraderie between the entire team is second to none and is unlike any other job I have had.

It looks great on my CV

Being a Student Ambassador is suitable for students studying all types of degrees. I studied for a Law Degree and the skills that I have developed will no doubt help me in becoming a successful lawyer. However, I have not gone straight into my chosen career path. Being a Student Ambassador left such a lasting impression that I am now working within a college as a Mentor, imparting the knowledge that I have gained and helping many students achieve their goals. There is no doubting that I would not have got this job without being a Student Ambassador and I am glad that I now have the skills to go down a variety of career paths. 

Answer these few simple questions...

Do you want to meet some great people who will become lifelong friends? Do you want to earn money whilst studying but want flexibility? Do you want to have a job where no two days are the same? If yes is your answer to any of these questions then apply to be a Student Ambassador and you will not regret it; I never did!

Author: Jamie Watkinson

Edited by: Declan Manning