Monique Quirk has been investigating the use of drones and laser scanning technology to monitor the integrity of bridges in South East Queensland — all while she is still studying.
A 14 week internship with GHD is putting Monique ahead of the game as she pursues her dream career.
Monique, who is studying a Bachelor of Civil Engineering at Griffith University, is completing an industry placement with one of the world’s leading engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services companies.
“I’m very keen to get into tunnelling and geotechnical engineering as well as construction, so this internship is allowing me to build skills that will compliment my degree perfectly,” she said.
“My project with the company is to look into alternative technologies to inspect and model the current condition of bridges and piers around Brisbane, whilst identifying cracks or defects which may affect the integrity of the structure.
“We use drones and laser technology to scan the structure and then input it into modelling-based programs for assessment.”
Monique said 3D modelling programs and technology are becoming the industry standard in engineering, so it was very beneficial for her to gain some skills and insight into this area.
She is undertaking work placement during her fourth year of study as part of the Industry Affiliates Program through Griffith’s School of Engineering.
Through this program, students are able to undertake work experience either internally with academic staff or externally with industry professionals.
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Monique said she felt it was important for her to boost her industry knowledge to ensure she was on track to reaching her dream career.
“I actually applied for the graduate program with GHD for 2017 and was successful through an interview process for that,” she said.
“Through that process I was also able to arrange my industry placement with them as well, which was such an added bonus.”