Quest is an international transfer program which connects Arcadians from all over the world. Quest is sponsored by the Lovinklaan Foundation. Every week we are highlighting one of the stories of our employees who went on an exchange. In this blogpost we cover the Quest story of Adebisi Giwa who traveled from London, UK to Dubai, UAE.
Why did I apply for a Quest
I found out about Quest from a colleague and as I did more research about it, the more attractive the idea of Quest dawned on me. I applied for a Quest in Dubai as I was intrigued by how the project planning and controls team strategic processes was implemented in Dubai. Furthermore, I chose Dubai because it is being marketed as the land of luxurious accomplishments with great architectural sky-scrapping buildings and I was intrigued by how the Arcadis office played a part, in such large projects within Dubai. I was eager to find out if the UK and Dubai shared any similarities and differences with regards to the teams and their approach to the projects.
“The whole experience and relationship built will be one to cherish and sustain for life!”
Highlight of my Quest experience
The few defining moments were having a host who was very much involved in my Quest experience, which made the whole experience impactful every day, and the new colleagues I met in Dubai who were very talented in their own respective roles. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet them all. The magnitude of the projects was massive and the turn around of the projects were pretty impressive. It was an eye opening experience to watch the various involvement from different parties and how they all coordinated and worked together.
My Quest in one word
“Eye-opening”
Learnings and experiences
I learnt that UK is a more established economy and the world has its own ways of doing business globally. Arcadis Globally are influenced by culture and laws that govern its environment, hence why things that work in the UK may not work in other areas of the world but require room for flexibility and adaptability to meet the requirements of local clients.
In Dubai the clients run the show and it is imperilment as a company to meet the demands and priorities of the client’s requirements. I learnt that relationship plays a big part with clients in Dubai but also our processes implementation requires a rigorous adaptability strategy, due to the constant change in the project requirements within the construction industry.
Recommendations
I would recommend anyone going on a Quest trip to find a host and have an itinerary enabling the entire trip to be a valuable experience. It is important that you have clear objectives before venturing on the Quest trip and make sure it is communicated with your host enabling them to develop a robust itinerary before your arrival. Explore and take the time to reflect on what you gained and learnt during your trip. I would suggest to also take the time to develop and bond with your colleagues, because that makes it all more meaningful and personal. Quest is also about experiencing diverse cultures and environments so try and take in as much as possible and do some sightseeing. One last point: keep all your receipts.
The international transfer program Quest, which connects Arcadians from all over the world, is sponsored by the Lovinklaan Foundation.
