6.00 AM

I usually wake up early to fit in some exercise before work. Today, I'm heading to the office early to join the Arup run club!

6.30 AM 

I’m lucky to live close to Perth CBD, so I cycle and go into the office most days rather than working from home. Being in the office means I can learn from others and ask any questions when we need to. I recently got an e-bike (which I love!) and I take the shared path along the rail corridor for most of the journey. We have an end-of-trip facility where I store my bike and drop my things in the changing room before the run.

7.00 AM

Arup Run Club! As a graduate, you can join a range of committees and this year I’ve been part of the Social, Sports and Wellness committee. I organise a weekly run or walk where we meet at the office and run along the river together. This week we made it to the new pedestrian bridge and had a quick jog over!

7.45 AM 

After showering and getting ready at the end-of-trip facility, I gather my things and head upstairs to the office. I put my belongings away in my locker and usually say a quick hello to our Front of House team. Today, I greeted Bron, our Office Manager.
 

8.00 AM

We recently moved to a new office in Perth and rotate around different sections, which we call neighbourhoods, every four months. Currently, we're on the lower level (level 2) with the Advisory team. I sit with my team in Transport Planning, and since we use hot desking, I often switch between different desk spots each day.

8.15 AM 

Once I’ve set up my desk it’s coffee time. I ask if anyone else would like a coffee and go to the Espresso Bar on level 3 (!!) to make one, have a quick chat to some others and attempt to do some latte art.

8:30 AM 

I begin work on a Transport Feasibility Study and Concept Design report. In Transport Planning, we engage in various stages of the project lifecycle. I've dedicated a significant amount of time to active travel and strategic planning, focusing on Concept Designs, Optioneering, and Network Planning, which are my areas of interest. However, there's also a high demand for traffic modelling, and we collaborate with other teams to see designs through to construction.

10.00 AM

I join an online Transport Planning and Town Planning Skills Network Seminar on Microsoft Teams – it's online so people across different countries can join. At Arup, you can join any skills network you like to network, share resources, access tools and ask questions.

11.00 AM

I continue working on the report, aiming to finish a draft of the Basis of Design in the morning. This section outlines the different elements we've used for the preferred option in the Concept Design. Arup provides various tools to research previous work or look up innovative case studies for inspiration.

12.00 PM
Lunch 😊 I haven’t prepped lunch yet this week, so I pop out with some others from my team to the food hall next door and grab some sushi. We all come back to the office and sit in the winter garden next to the kitchen with whoever is around.

12.45 PM

Post-lunch coffee, water top up and biscuit from our Transport Planning biscuit jar!  
 

1.00 PM 

I continue working on the Feasibility report. This afternoon, I need to start writing up the different options considered for the route and think about how the design implementation can be staged. I usually stand at my desk in the afternoon and have even started a standing desk competition for the people in our neighbourhood!

3.00 PM 

I set up a catch up with the Project Manager for the report I’m working on and book a room to chat through my progress, ask questions and brainstorm the staging plan so that I can get the report ready for internal review.

4.00 PM 

I do a bit more work on the report before packing up and riding home.

5.00 PM onwards 

Once I get home, I read a bit of my book (I’m hosting book club at my apartment tomorrow so have a bit of a deadline to finish it!) and then head out to the CBD again to meet a couple of friends for dinner.

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