Our undergrad summer placement

Define has always welcomed opportunities to connect with and nurture new talent in the industry, and we’ve just said goodbye to our most recent undergrad, Alison, who spent the final few days of her summer placement on our study trip to Cambridge.

We’ve been impressed by Alison’s willingness and ability to take on any tasks we’ve put in front of her. Moving from academia to practice is a steep learning curve and the current planning climate can make it difficult to offer absolute clarity on its direction of travel!

We thought we’d ask her how she felt about her time with us:

“Before joining Define, I was unaware of the degree of influence different statutory consultees have on proposed development. Although it is not always guaranteed, I could also see in practice how planning tries to ensure development satisfies the needs of everyone. A highlight during my summer placement was tracking the progression of planning applications to better understand the planning process, as well as having an opportunity to prepare illustrative maps by using Adobe software and helping to write a Design Brief for a new development.

Define is a friendly, creative and dynamic environment that has allowed me to cultivate useful industry related skills. Working alongside landscape architects and urban designers, and having the opportunity to access a wide variety of professional publications has also helped me to clarify my dissertation topic for this academic year, which is related to green spaces.

Now, I’m looking forward to completing my final year studying BSc Geography and Urban & Regional Planning at University of Birmingham and am hoping to become a chartered planner in the future.”

Good luck in your final year Alison and we are looking forward to seeing you progress in your career!