BLOG – Damian found the missing golden piece to his puzzle in Seattle
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 our employees who went on an exchange. In this blogpost we cover the Quest story of Damian Madgwick who traveled from Croydon, UK to Seattle, USA.
Why did I apply for a Quest
I often have that ‘What If’ moment whenever I see potential inefficiencies of working and cost savings to the business. The Arcadis Quest programme allowed me to explore how other businesses within the Arcadis family tackle cost estimation within a Revit environment. The knowledge exchanged through the time spent with the team CarllisonRTKL in Seattle, will assist in establishing a working procedure within Arcadis UK; where we are not only working to certain Building Information Management (BIM) levels, but to introduce innovative means of cost estimating through algorithms.
“Knowledge exchange turned out to be the missing golden piece to my puzzle!”
Highlight of my quest experience
My initial Quest experience began back in March 2017 with CarllisonRTKL when we made initial contact via Yammer and established a common interest. Ever since then, we’ve kept in contact via Skype, constantly battling the time zone differences till the day I flew out in November. The main highlight of my trip was not the city nor the tourist locations, but the knowledge exchange which was the missing golden piece to my puzzle, something I wouldn’t had known about unless I undertook Arcadis Quest and went on exchange.
Learnings and experiences
I have had the pleasure of meeting various experts on a face-to-face basis ranging from Architects, Cost Consultants, to Legal Counsels, and connecting with them on a personal level. This visit has given me a real insight into how the US operates on both a design, cost consultancy within a Revit environment, a legal prospective in terms to the US construction industry, and common practices and how it aligns with that in the UK. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with team at CarllisonRTKL Seattle, they have been excellent hosts, and I hope to work with them in the near future!
I would recommend the Arcadis Quest programme to anybody within the company no matter what level you are. The transfer program is not only a fantastic way to make new connections but also to explore what the Arcadis family has to offer in terms of knowledge exchange and developing both personally and professionally.
The international transfer program Quest, which connects Arcadians from all over the world, is sponsored by the Lovinklaan Foundation.