Patrick Parsons partner with University of Birmingham

17 April 2018

Multi-disciplinary consulting engineers, Patrick Parsons, have partnered with the University of Birmingham to provide support to final year engineering students.

Chris Storey, Geo-Environmental Director in Patrick Parsons’ Birmingham office, mentored the six students as they completed a piece of work as part of an Engineering Geology module.

Chris commented: “It was very rewarding to mentor the students on life as a ground engineering professional and show them how to apply the knowledge they have gained at university to real life situations, it is something I hope to get the opportunity to repeat next year.”

The programme involved the engineering students working at the firm’s Birmingham office once a week, for four weeks, as they prepared a professional style report based on real ground investigation information from a live Patrick Parsons project, similar to what would be provided to clients on a regular basis.

Ellis Hammond, who completed the programme, commented: “It was enriching to be able to put our knowledge into practice in a professional environment. Chris was a great mentor; he was very informative about the project, and what it is like to work in the industry. He clearly explained industry standards and jargon and guided us as we worked to produce high quality reports. Working with Patrick Parsons was a valuable experience, as many of the team have ambitions to become Engineering Geologists. A big thank you to Chris and the Patrick Parsons team.”

Roshni Barot, Work Intergrated Learning Advisor at the University of Birmingham, said: “At the University of Birmingham we understand the importance of our students putting the theory that they learn into practice, in the real-world. Partnering with Patrick Parsons has given our students the opportunity to do this whilst getting subject specific experience. Our students are developing their professional behaviours and also their technical skills, which enhances their academic performance, and their employability.”