Navigating Graduate Success

In mid-October, fabrik had the honour of presenting at an event hosted by URBOX Brookes, as part of the Urban Design, Planning, and Development Course at Oxford Brookes University. The event, themed ‘Navigating Graduate Success’ aimed to provide insights into the life of an urban designer post-university and share our experiences of working in practice.

Alex Baker represented fabrik and was joined by esteemed colleagues from David Lock Associates Ltd, Stantec, and Edge Urban Design. Alex shared his journey from graduation to his current role as a Technical Director at fabrik, highlighting the diverse opportunities within masterplanning and urban design. He emphasised the importance of finding your passion within the field and how this can significantly influence career development. He also outlined how demonstrating enthusiasm and discussing projects and portfolios during interviews can be crucial in securing graduate scheme positions.

Key themes of the presentation included the significance of landscape and placemaking in masterplanning, illustrating how these concepts can be integrated to create sustainable, healthy environments. Eloise Hawkes, fabrik’s 2024 masterplanning team intern, concluded the presentation by offering valuable insights into fabrik’s company culture and her positive experiences during the summer she spent with the urban design team.

It was a wonderful experience to return to the Abercrombie Building at Oxford Brookes, where Alex completed his own Urban Design Masters, as did many of the masterplanning team at fabrik. It was inspiring to see the enthusiasm and passion from the URBOX group as they explore career paths within the field.