Name: Abhinav Kongari
Department: Mechanical Engineering
I come from Bokaro Steel City, which like Sheffield also has a steel plant in its vicinity. Ever since the beginning of my school life, I was involved in each and every activity possible. I represented my school as the President of debating club in competitions at various levels, served as the Vice-Captain of the Students' Council and participated in regional and state level basketball competitions as a part of the school team.
I think it was my love for machines that motivated me to pursue Mechanical Engineering as a subject. I chose The University of Sheffield because it is one of the best universities for Mechanical Engineering. Moreover, the new facility 'Diamond' houses the most advanced equipments available. The lecture theatres are amazing (the one where I have most of my lectures has a 3-D screen), the labs look like ones in the sci fi movies and the facility remains open 24/7, with plenty of study spaces available. Sheffield has undoubtedly an amazing faculty. One of my design lecturers actually designed and built the world’s first F3 race car out of sustainable and renewable materials like carrots, potatoes and chocolates.
My course allows me to work with all kinds of equipments that I had ever dreamed of. We have laser cutters, 3d printers and a Project Space for students to undertake practical work in their own time. Till now, I have built a device for ‘marble run’, constructed a bridge made completely out of paper and recently, we were given a few weeks to design and build a device that could shoot a basketball over long ranges. Moreover, among one of my modules is the Global Engineering Challenge week where you are teamed up with 5 other engineers (everyone being from different disciplines) and you get to tackle real-world problems from a global perspective. Your task might range from designing an anti-poaching system for elephants and chimpanzees in Bambui (Cameroon) to improving and maintaining existing road network in some village in India. Every knowledge you gain is extremely practical and the best thing about studying my subject is ‘you know your ideas are making an impact’.
After having finished my course, I hope to go into research work and along with that get involved with societies like Engineers without Borders. Research work, especially in fields of acoustic engineering, would enable me to incorporate my love of music with my love for machines. Moreover, being a part of EWB would allow me to use my knowledge of Engineering in making people’s lives better.
Lastly, I’d say to prospective students that studying at Sheffield will be one of the best experiences of your life. Try to get involved with as many societies from your first year (great way of making new friends!), make use of the ‘give it a go’ sessions to do things you’ve never tried before and use the library as much as you can!
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