Our Alumni

Nottingham was one of the select few offering an aerospace specific course, and the coursework provided tasks that are similar to real world projects, allowing us to use facilities we’d use in industry such as wind tunnels. The lecturers were excellent teachers and always keen to help outside of their teaching hours.

"Work experience is crucial when looking for jobs, and I’d advise everyone apply for summer internships from the first year onwards. I was rejected by Rolls-Royce in my first year, but this was valuable learning experience for my second-year interview which I secured. From here I was offered another summer internship in 3rd year. Besides the value in securing future employment, they were also really fun, and I was paid real money."

Since graduating I’ve managed to secure a role as a Graduate Engineer at Rolls-Royce. My summer internships meant when it came to graduation and the graduate scheme, I was lucky enough to be selected.

During my degree I completed a year-long industrial placement at Cargill. Completing a year in industry was a completely different lifestyle to university. I’m really glad I took that year out to learn more about the practical applications of engineering and to identify the scope of roles I could get involved in. 

"I think work experience is really instrumental in helping to secure a graduate job. It exposes you to so much that you might have only touched upon at university. It bridges the gap between the theoretical aspects of the course and where that translates into an industrial setting."

Since graduating I have secured a role as a Making and Utilities Process Engineer at P&G’s Reading Plant, where we produce Gillette and Old Spice products.I think one of my favourite parts is having the freedom to work collaboratively with colleagues with multiple skillsets to drive improvements, be that to a physical or digital process, with the aim of reducing consumption or introducing a time saving.

I came from Egypt and completed my foundation year in 2017. Following this, I went on to study MEng Electronic and Computer Engineering, graduating in 2021. I spent a semester studying abroad at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong as well as completing a summer internship at Bank of America during my studies. Following a successful summer internship, I now works as a Graduate Technology Analyst for the Bank of America.

"I initially wanted to study computer science but whilst on the FEPS programme, I became interested in Maths, so I decided to pursue a course that combined computing and maths. Make the most out of your foundation year because you are getting a head start. Join societies and expand your social network as much as you can."

During my degree I took an exciting opportunity to join Walkers Snack Foods (PepsiCo) for my placement year.

Some of the influential projects that I worked on throughout the role included the upgrade of packaging machines, improvement of the site's understanding of water and gas to reduce usage and I created a flow chart to aid problem solving for the operations and maintenance teams. This gave me great insight into finding innovative solutions to improve manufacturing processes for large organisations.

“I really enjoyed this role as I gained exposure to a live manufacturing environment which gave me a strong starting point for my current project-based role.”

Since graduating, I have joined Integrated Food Projects as a process project engineer. My role focuses on projects to develop and enhance food process lines. These range from improving individual pieces of equipment for existing manufacturers, to supporting large teams designing brand new factories to shape the future of food production. 

After graduating, I worked at Bennetts Associates before studying at Central Saint Martins on the spatial practices programme. With these qualifications, I joined the urban research team at We Made That, contributing to several leading research studies, urban frameworks and published design guidance. Now, as an urban design officer and a public practice associate – I am using my diverse skill set to manage design and policy development in the London Borough of Haringey.

“Working in urban design has given me some brilliant insights into understanding and shaping our cities.”

I have written articles for FRAME and Blueprint magazines; and exhibited my work at Tate Modern and the London Design Festival. Contributing to the architectural field across these outlets is something that I am very proud of. 

I studied Architectural Environment Engineering, undertaking a summer placement at AECOM during my time on the course and ended up re-joining the team after I graduated in 2019. I work as a mechanical engineer where I lead project teams in designing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems for a variety of office and residential developments in and around London.

“As someone who has always been interested in what I can do to fight climate change, this degree and job has set me up perfectly to make my mark on an industry which contributes towards 40% of carbon emissions in the UK.” 

In 2021, I came second place in the Civil Institute of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE) Young Engineer Awards. I play an active role within CIBSE as the events coordinator the HVAC Systems Group, as well as running AECOM St Albans Young Engineers Forum and Early Careers Society. 

If you care about sustainability and want to play a major role in the fight against climate change, then this is the perfect course for you! 

I studied mechanical engineering, with a focus on sustainability and an intent to join the energy industry.

“During my degree, I interned with bp and loved it! Fortunately, bp offered me a graduate role and I started the following year.”

I have spent most of my career working at operating sites within chemicals and refining businesses.

“Across various roles working in this field, I have been able to travel the world, experiment with technologies like 3D metal printing and become a chartered engineer.”

More recently I have taken on the role of business advisor, supporting the CEO and leadership team. It has been a brilliant development role for me, offering plenty of insights into how the business is run and inspiration as we move towards a net-zero energy future.  

I'm Jack Greenard, I graduated with a first class MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 2015 – one of my highlights was winning the electrical and electronic engineering prize.

Since then, I have joined Hoare Lea which is a leading engineering consultancy firm providing specialist solutions to design challenges across the UK. As an electrical engineer in this field, I work on various elements of electrical design and other specialisms such as lighting, fire alarm data and security in the design of buildings. I have been in this role for three years now, having started my career at AECOM, a global engineering firm, following a successful summer placement as part of my degree.

Since leaving university I have progressed from a junior member of the project design team to lead designer, looking after a range of building projects. Going forward, working with STEM is an exciting part of my future aspirations to increase awareness of STEM subjects and my field of engineering.

“My aim in the years to come is to achieve my Chartered Engineer Status and become a trusted and valued project lead, working on challenging and exciting projects to shape the built environment around me.”

I chose to study at Nottingham as it's one of the top universities in the world and is a member of the prestigious UK based Russell Group, which is a group of some of the best universities in the country.

I chose to study manufacturing engineering because I love to solve problems and the subject involves solving problems in many worlds such as supply chain and industrial manufacturing. You just don’t learn from the book, but you are also given the chance to learn from the real world and see the solutions to problems in real time.

"Through my visits to various companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, DHL, and Unilever with the university; I picked up a real keen interest for solving operational issues and understanding how moving parts work in operations in various industries."

After a placement period spent in operational excellence, I realised that I wanted to get my career off to a start in this space. The university made the course engaging with quality teaching and that really helped shape my career. I now work for Deloitte in the Operational Excellence Division as a Senior Consultant.

I'm a Chartered Civil Engineer working as a Planning Engineer on Thames Tideway East, one of London's flagship projects and a huge feat of engineering running under the Thames and across the capital. My current company, Costain PLC sponsored me throughout my Civil Engineering degree at the University of Nottingham and I joined the company upon graduating in 2013. Since then, I've been involved in the delivery of complex high-profile projects with highly demanding clients such as HS2, Crossrail, Network Rail and now Thames Tideway.

I currently sit on the Costain Women’s Network Steering Group and am a founding member and previous Chair of the Female Advocates in Infrastructure and Rail (FAIR) Network on HS2. As part of the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship Alumni, I am an Arkwright ambassador, mentor and have sat on the interview panel for the 2021 student scholars. Finally, last year I was awarded the Women’s Engineering Society, ‘Top 50 Women in Engineering 2021: Engineering Heroes’, accolade which recognised my leadership with FAIR in amongst my success as a Senior Engineer implementing game changing innovation on HS2.

"I'm determined to promote and support platforms which continue to celebrate women’s accomplishments and share the value of allyship, including partaking in many panel discussions such as at the London Build Expo 2021 to drive the agenda for gender diversity in the engineering and construction industry."

I currently work as an IFSE (Integrated Fluids and Solids Engineer) for Schlumberger, where I'm responsible for ensuring the properties of the drilling fluid, also known as drilling mud, are within designed specifications. This role is based on an offshore rig where I run mud checks in the lab, attend meetings, and complete a mud report. The mud check involves a series of lab tests to check the mud properties and ensure there are no contaminants. Should any of the properties be out of specification, then we can add chemicals to rectify.

You can run into all sorts of issues when drilling like weather delays, fluid contamination and losses. Drilling can be costly, you need to be adaptable and quickly address anything that does occur to get the project back on its feet and avoid non-productive time.  

The job is interesting, challenging and I like seeing how it ties in with the other operations on the rig. I hate sitting down all day so it’s good that you’re out and about and getting involved.

"I'd advise you get as much help with applications as you can, I had several people give me feedback on my CV and had practice interviews with the careers team whilst still at Uni. Back yourself and just go for it."