SURE – Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience

By Muhammad Shuja

Are you not SURE what to do after completing your degree? Are you not SURE if a PhD is the right option for you? Are you not SURE why I’m saying SURE a gazillion times? SUREly, you’ll know it all once you read this blog.

The Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE, sorry had to!) is a program run across all the departments at the University of Sheffield where a group of students work on a six-week paid research project over a summer. It is a fantastic opportunity for students to get an insight of what it’s like to pursuing research-based opportunities like a PhD. I myself was part of such a project in the summer of 2017 where I worked in the Department of Physics. My project was to assess the use of thermal cameras to improve building planning and reducing electricity bills in UK households. We were fantastic team of physicists, chemical and software engineers who worked together for six weeks on this amazing project. We built various simulations and models to test our cameras and use those results to present a report, while I worked on building a website for the entire project for future research and surveying purposes (link given below).

A SURE project definitely enhances your CV and your skills to work in a team of people who put their individual skill sets on the table. It also improves your communication skills since you have to ensure that all work is divided among the team with a clear idea of the progress being made.  All projects carried out over the summer are then presented at the SURE showcase in the next year to give all new students an idea of what has been done previously. The showcase then presents awards to the best projects in various categories. I was quite honoured when my team received the award for the ‘Best Networking Project’, since it was one of the few teams who worked with students coming from different disciplines.

For me, personally, this was an amazing experience to explore an entirely new career opportunity, something which I hadn’t considered before. It gives you the confidence of making a sound decision when choosing a career path after graduation.  You get to evaluate whether you’d be more interested in research as an engineer or if you’d prefer working in a team on a more technical project. Unfortunately, for me as a Software Engineer, I’ll prefer sticking to coding projects in a team and telling my friends to restart their computers if they have a problem (trust me, it always works).

Now that you’re SURE about what SURE is, you SUREly would plan to apply to Sheffield to explore these excellent opportunities which SUREly develops your skills and enSUREs that you have a competitive edge in industry once you graduate, which you SUREly will. Please feel free to add the number of SUREs in your head to the point where you start hating me, if that point hasn’t already passed. I’m SURE it has.

Summer Internship Experience in Malaysia by Lucas L

I spent the summer of 2016 on the forefronts of development in the Malaysian construction industry, as I practiced on a futuristic tool that has revolutionized global construction. This is my story …

Dawn…

A tranquil ambiance blanketed the massive 34-acre site, sitting at the edge of Peninsular Malaysia’s administrative capital, Putrajaya. Early birds arriving on site enjoyed the cool morning climate, coupled with the scent of fresh earth and concrete around the bare land. Welcoming workers entering the site was a giant sign naming the “Parcel F” site while banners of Sunway Construction fluttered proudly along the perimeter fence.

30 minutes later…

The silence was replaced with blaring sirens, signaling the start of the workday. Trucks, rollers, and bulldozers roared to life; towering cranes recovered from their dormant states, controlled by their puppeteers. Site engineers took their places around the 10-office-block site, skillfully directing workers in mending steel and casting concrete. I, had the privilege of being assigned to the company’s pioneering Building Information Modeling (BIM) department. I headed to the satellite office at the edge of the site, ready to start my day as an intern BIM engineer.

Just for your information, BIM was a budding piece of tech in the historical construction industry. The system utilizes a series of computer programs to generate an accurate digital representation of a structure, allowing also the effective management and optimization  of various aspects throughout the construction supply line from design, coordination, and delivery.

The Malaysian construction industry had only begun to embrace this newfangled system. Design works are typically conducted using conventional methods (sketches, 2D CAD, human calculations etc). Sunway Construction, being an innovative player within the local construction industry, had recently begun to integrate this technology recently into their supply line.  

Armed with a computer and a plethora of plans given by design consultants, my job comes in in the early stages of the BIM supply chain, in which I produce/amend structural and

architectural models. ‘Accuracy’ and ‘buildability', are the two words that summarize the critical aspects of my job. An accurate representation of the actual structures was vital as the models will be used for analysis throughout the production line. In order to deliver a high level of  accuracy, I had to dig through a trove of design plans and detailed drawings. A ‘buildable’ structure was ensured through a critical analysis of the model, i.e. there was a need to be able to identify and report design failures or discrepancies, between the design detail of all trades as the models are being made (architecture, structural, mechanical and electrical) to ensure the structure could be delivered smoothly on site.

The true effectiveness of BIM becomes apparent down the supply chain. Utilizing the delivered models, experienced engineers will then conduct further checks such as clashes with services, plan construction phases and conduct precise estimates of material volumes required for construction. The final product will then be a model that integrates the complete set of information of the true structure being built. From then on, plans are shipped out to site engineers for casting.

The main advantage of my industrial experience was witnessing the deviation of the engineering field from the conventional tedious calculations and field labour to a more effective technocentric path. I have to admit that the emphasis placed on technological fluency at the University in structuring their course, runs parallel to industrial requirements, allowing me a quick transition into my placement role. Just writing this article brings back memories of  recent  MATLAB programming coursework, which prompted students to figure out the most effective algorithm to analyze parameters and determine the most effective method of training a baseball player (slightly unorthodox for civil engineers, but a fun topic nonetheless). The principles of optimization using technology highlighted by such coursework from the underlying principles of which BIM is established for.

At the end of the 12 weeks, my industrial training program came to an end and so did a chapter of my student life. But with this experience, I now possess an insight which will be helpful in my preparation for the future as the global construction industry treads down this technocentric path.

Civil and Structural Engineering Internship

My three month vacation this year was not at all like any other I have ever had before. Usually when I have vacation from school, it means you stay home and watch a lot of movies, catch up on all the shows that you've missed during the year. But this year, although I had planned for the same, I was greeted by something very different.

My name is Balgovind Ranjith, a second year student of The University of Sheffield studying Bachelors in Civil and Structural Engineering. Click on my name to view my profile! After witnessing a lot of my seniors going around town working for the university or businesses in the city, and hearing of what they've done over their vacations, I had decided that an internship was best for me to gain a sort of real world experience is what I need to learn and increase my employability. I had worked up an opportunity to work at a construction site through my dad's contacts (my dad who conveniently works in the same field as I study!).

Bouygues Construction, a French contracting firm, starting their first construction project in India and I was part of it for a month! There wasn't a lot that the firm could allow me to do as an intern, but I still got to do odd jobs here and there. The first week, I found a database that they were using that could be refined. I asked for it, and I got the work. Using excel skills that most students nowadays would have and a lot of 'Googling', I transformed that database into a program effortlessly does exactly what you want. Other than that, I got the opportunity to work shadow a site engineer, follow him down into raft excavations to witness how work is done there, what it means to be a site engineer, their responsibilities and difficulties. Towards the latter half of my month there, I was responsible in handling a steel bar fabrication yard! I was kept in charge of a team of fabricators to make sure the work being done was correct, to address any issues in the yard and most importantly, to make sure work was being at all!

After a month there, to get a feel of both halves of my structural engineering world, I worked in a consulting firm. Buro Happold, a consulting firm based in Bath with an office in Mumbai. The engineers after being incredibly surprised of all the content that I've already learnt in my first year in Sheffield, gave me a whole building to design. Although that may seem daunting to a first year engineering student, it honestly wasn't. The engineers there were incredibly friendly, and appreciated me going there to learn. They pointed me in the right directions as long as I was willing to google the rest. In the end of a month working there, I completed the design of 23 storied building, including earthquake design and wind loads (which are really complicated stuff! Just saying). Also, a little trivia I found out while working there, Buro Happold was the firm that designed the structures of the Winter Gardens in Sheffield and also played a role in renovating the infrastructure in Endcliffe and Ranmoor. I can't tell you why exactly, but I got very excited when I found that out.

Overall, the decision taken to work over my vacations was one of the best in my life. I've learned an incredibly vast amount over the short duration of just two months. Content that would put me at an advantage during my course and even later on. The other benefits of this being that in the short term, I didn't waste my vacation away and in the long term this would be a significant boost to my career. An internship is something I would recommend to any ambitious student, be it work you get through your connections or by applying formally, work in Sheffield or at home. It will be worth it.

My Summer Placement Experience

By: Usman Sami Khan

After finishing through with the first year of university, I was looking to find a summer placement back home in Pakistan. Fortunately enough, I managed to secure a placement at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan’s national flag carrier. This was a two month long summer placement, from June till September. In the scorching summer temperatures of around 40°C, I started off my placement in the month of Ramadhan, a period of fasting from dawn till dusk for Muslims. As imagined, the field work pertaining to the placement really took the energy out of me during such high temperatures while observing fasts. 

The placement involved students being divided into groups and being rotated around Base Maintenance, Line Maintenance and the Engine Overhaul Shop. Seeing an aircraft with such highly precisioned engines in front of your eyes was a sight I cannot describe into words. While working at Base Maintenance, I was able to witness aircraft undergoing checks based on the class of check the aircraft was due to undergo depending on cycles and flight hours, namely the A, B, C, and D check. I also had a chance to work in Line Maintenance, witnessing how aircraft are serviced on ground before being sent off for flights. I have also worked extensively in the engine shop, where engines used to come in for shop visits and go through the rigorous process of being checked for snags before being sent off for service. After cleaning and NDT inspection, any components found that required machining or repair were sent off to the Machine shop where processes such as lathing, boring, and drilling were done to make the component serviceable again. This allowed me to witness Computerised Numerical Control (CNC) machines, including the CNC Vertical Turret Lathe and the CNC horizontal boring machine. After repair and modification, parts were sent to the general assembly area to be put together. The engines were then sent to the test bench for final clearance after verifying errors.

After having rotated around the aforementioned areas, we were also sought to assist ground engineers in helping repair any sort of snags that would come up. This gave us a hands-on approach and helped put our knowledge to use. PIA also services aircraft and engines for the other privately owned airlines in Pakistan, and therefore I also had a chance to go and help out engineers working on an Air Indus aircraft. Since the shops were located very close to the runway of the Karachi Airport, seeing aircraft taking off and landing in front of a matter of a few meters distance was simply breathtaking!

This placement provided me with the chance to put thermodynamics and fluid mechanics theories to practicality while learning about different aspects of aerodynamics, fluid hydraulics, and pneumatics. Apart from the obvious networking and teamwork skills, this unique experience provided me with an opportunity to learn extensively about the theory of flight and a basic gas turbine engine. This experience allowed my confidence to flourish while working in a team of interns in a very competitive environment.