Meet Our International Engineering Ambassador - Ritwesh Chatterjee

Q: A little about me first …

A: I am an undergraduate student studying the course Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science with a Year in Industry. I am from India and have, for better or for worse spent my entire life over there before moving to the UK.  I have been awarded one of the five Sheffield Undergraduate India Merit Scholarships and also received an Engineering Excellence Scholarship by the Faculty of Engineering. I love listening to music of all genres, but some psychedelic progressive rock will always get my attention first! An offer for a session of music and gossiping is something I cannot refuse.

Q: Why far away from home? And Why University of Sheffield?

A: I neither did trouble my parents too much nor did they trouble me. So I came to UK of my own free will. The motivation behind this was the system of education that is practiced in the United Kingdom. They manage to teach us a lot more with the least pressure, providing us with capabilities to work in an industry or work in a team of highly qualified professionals.

However, the curricular education isn’t enough. Being a high achiever in exam papers but losing sight of the things that makes us human is not ideal. The cultural history of Sheffield and the ambience is really very influential and makes us grow as a person. Being a Russel group university, the University of Sheffield provides the highest standards of education but also has its own warmth, and is very welcoming to international students. You never feel abandoned or isolated like Mark Watney from The Martian. The staff and students work in unison trying to figure out what’s best for the students and constantly work on developing themselves and the system. I promise you won’t find it difficult to find a home away from home.

Q: What I love about my course …

A: Since I hate clichés, I won’t say ‘everything’. I’ll be specific. I am in a department with over 40 teaching staff. Each of them has their own areas of specialisation. Their expertise is reflected in their way of approaching topics. How making paper planes can help understand Agile Methodology of Software Development, is something I couldn’t have guessed otherwise! The unconventional approaches, yet keeping the flavours and advantages of orthodox methods, blending them to perfection is really an art one admires. Professors of their experience, being open to new ideas coming from students and actually paying attention and helping them to work on those, is also something worth noting. Lack of encouragement is something you can never complain about. I study a curriculum which is designed so that everyone from novices to people with experience in a certain area will have enough to gain from it and not feel deprived in any way. The assignments are planned and designed in such a way that they give us the feel of working in the industry and help us develop each aspect, starting from professionalism to group work.

Q: A typical day in Sheffield …

A: Yes, you do miss your mom or occasionally curse the decision to go abroad when you have to do everything from cooking your own food to buying your own medicines when you are sick. But then rest of the day brings life back to you. Waking up in the morning to rush to lecture theatres … yes, you might want to take a short nap during the lectures but then again, you need to pay attention. A sandwich, a cookie and some Latte from the Diamond Café might just work. The bright smiles and people warmly wishing you good morning might even make up for the morning shivers! As the day goes by you may dread the upcoming exams, but you might also come up with a brilliant logic to make your robots work in the lab. So you end up finishing the two days’ work in one and you feel on top of the world! Just then you are reminded of your upcoming Quiz in the next week but we are students, and that’s what we do. Some lectures make you sleepy, some are better than alarm clocks! But an evening in the café with a cuppa and friends is must. Even better, go to the studios and have a jamming session with friends. The moment I pick up sticks and sit behind the drums with the other guys up with their keys and six-strings, the tiredness fades away! After a couple of hours, you’re tired but recharged at the same time. And if it’s a weekend? There are always clubs and pubs you might want to go to. Sheffield, with its distinctive music culture, is sure to refresh you and get your energy back to ensure you can work even harder the next week!

Q: Something I would like to say …

A: Before I sign off, a few final words. If you are a new comer, make as many friends as possible. The first year of your undergraduate education is going to be the easiest. You should try and join as many Societies that interest you and get actively involved. Time will fly. Try and make the most of each moment as university life is something you won’t get back. And please, don’t study so much that you forget to enjoy life. Grades are important but so is fun! Have a passion to pursue. Who knows, your passion might one day be your profession someday!

MEET OUR INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING AMBASSADOR : ASHWIN C ASHOK

Name: Ashwin Chithraveni Ashok

Department:  Aerospace Engineering

Course: MEng in Aerospace Engineering with a year in Industry.

Nationality: Indian

A bit about myself:

Hey, I am Ashwin Chithraveni Ashok from the southernmost tip of India-Kanyakumari. I am pretty sure you are wondering about my long name which is quite hard to pronounce. But the fact is that, guys with long name are usually more romantic and so I am: p. Oh brain don’t be distracted, please let me stick to these details. As mentioned earlier, I am a first year undergraduate student of Aerospace Engineering who enjoys the university life here in Sheffield. Do I really enjoy it? Of course I do.

What was your favourite subject in school?

I enjoyed almost all the subjects in my school but maths, history and computers were much close to my heart.

How did you decide what degree course to take?

Since I was young, I had an ambition in life which I wanted to pursue when I grew up. So it was pretty easy for me whilst taking the degree course. But later on like every students even I was confused about choosing the course between Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering. I was motivated further to choose Aerospace Engineering when I received the Armstrong award from my school (Excel Central School). After all, “Sky is not the limit when there are footprints on the moon”.

What advice would you give to people about to choose a university course?

I would politely ask you to do a lot of research of your own before choosing any university or the course that you wanted to pursue. This is because as a student we need to know about the structure of the course before we start studying. After all it’s your life and you need to take extra special care, as this could determine your upcoming future. “Today is the result of the actions you did yesterday”.

Hobbies:

Being a foodie by birth, I love cooking and eating new kinds of food. Since living in  Sheffield, I have learned to cook myself using the youtube videos and now I can cook some yummy Indian recipes. Apart from eating and sleeping, I love doing volunteering activities for the Sheffield volunteering hub and other local organisations over here. I especially, I enjoy the volunteering activities with kids which makes me feel young and dynamic. Apart from this, I love playing chess, volleyball,spending time at gym and dancing tamil kuthu style.

What are your plans for the future/dreams/goals?

My first year was awesome, fulfilling all the plans that I pre-planned before coming to UK. My plans for the second year are to get a paid internship which relates to my discipline and also I want to be on the committees of my favourite societies in the Students Union. My ultimate goal is to work for NASA and ISRO and then finally start my own business. 

Where can you find me in the University?

Usually aerospace lectures are held at St. George’s Church and Stephenson building. But you can rarely find me over there. Instead just check me on any social medias you use and if not somewhere in Students Union or Information Commons.

Meet our International Engineering Ambassadors: Min Qi Lee

Name: Min Qi Lee

Course: MEng Bioengineering (with a year in industry)

Nationality: Malaysian Chinese
 

Before I begin, let me do a brief self-introduction.

My name is Min Qi Lee. I’m currently in Year 1, doing MEng Bioengineering with a year in industry. I come from South East Asia, Malaysia. (Above Singapore, in case you don’t know where Malaysia is) I’m a Malaysian Chinese just incase if you wonder why do I have a Chinese name.

Why Bioengineering?

After graduating from high school, I made my decision to do A-levels. During A-levels, I learnt biology, chemistry, physics and math. This made me realize which subjects I’m good or weak at. I like dealing with calculations in math and physics and at the same time, I still madly in love with biology! The combination of maths, physics and biology made me choose bioengineering! The simple words, bioengineering is where engineering meets biology/medicine.

Bioengineering simply means using biology principles and engineering skills to produce a better device or technology ranging from MRI to prosthetic arms to improve people’s daily lives.

Why Sheffield?

First of all, Sheffield is the 4^th largest city in UK. It is also considered the safest city in UK. The first word that came out of my mind to describe Sheffield is greenery; this is why there are a lot of parks and gardens around. It is a good place for students to catch some fresh air after a hectic exam week or to relax and chill with some friends. The living expenses in Sheffield are also lower compared to other cities. This is an advantage for an international student like me.

Where do I have my classes?

Since I’m doing Bioengineering, most of my classes are in the engineering building, which is known as the Mappin Building (on the right). However, I also have some biology module, so some of my classes will be in Arts Tower and Alfred Denny Building.

Where is the best place in the University of Sheffield?

To Study:

The best place to study is in the Information Common (IC). It is open 24/7 everyday. There are 6 floors in total. Other than borrowing books, there are scanners, photocopier machines, printers available for the students’ convenience. There is also a prayer room for Muslims in the building.

What if you are hungry while studying? There are vending machines available everywhere. There is also a café in ground floor, which opens for 24 hours as well. They serve hot food, sandwiches, hot and cold beverages.

Good news for engineering students! In September 2015, ‘The Diamond’ will be completed and available for the students. It has a similar concept to the IC and it will be the new place for engineering students to study!

Some advice to all the juniors.

No matter what course you are planning to pursue, make sure you have done all the researches about it. Discuss with your seniors, parents or counsellors and make sure it is what you want. Lastly, enjoy your university life!

What to do with my Mechanical Engineering Degree?

What to do with my Mechanical Engineering Degree?

Written by: Birju Galaiya

In this blog I will explore the career paths a Mechanical Engineering Student can follow once they have finished their degree. Apart from the degree the University offers you, they support you in every possible way they can to perhaps help you find a part-time job, build your skills or apply for a graduate scheme.

Have you ever thought about what you’re really going to do once you have gained a degree? Which would be your ideal company? What you want to specialize in and what is going to be the future trends in the engineering industry? Well, most of you wouldn’t have given deep thoughts but I don’t blame you- you have enough on your plate at the moment focusing on passing exams. I was the same.

But I think it’s really important to have a plan on what your aspirations are. Yes, you will study for 3

or maybe 4 years. Then you need to look for a job. This I believe is the hard part. Mechanical Engineering is the broadest kind of engineering where you could end up working in the aerospace industry, building services, energy sector or in the transport and automotive sector. It’s really up to you which industry you are interested in! Personally, I am keen in joining the energy sector and the rail industry. In the end whichever industry you want to join- they want the same thing from you: a good set of skills that supplement your degree. In order for you to do this you need to create a CV- a profile of your achievements and the type of skills you possess.

The Careers Service at the University of Sheffield supports students in their quests for jobs in a number of ways. They help you develop and perfect your CV by facilitating a one-on-one session with a careers advisor who guides you through the process. Furthermore, throughout the year, they have talks and workshops targeting a particular group of students. For example they would have a talk about how international students can get part-time jobs and what they need to do in terms of visa restrictions. The talks are very helpful, especially for international students. Other talks include ways on improving the way students fill in job application forms. Also, you can undertake workshops where you can, including others, improve on your communication, presentation and interpersonal skills.

When it comes to the tests and interviews most companies now have, it is important for you to be prepared for them thoroughly to increase your chances of success in a competitive job market. The Careers Service frequently carries out mock tests and interviews which you can use to prepare yourself. I have taken few of these tests and I can say that they build up your confidence and give you hints about what you need to put more effort in.

Once you graduate, you have to apply for a job. Without much industrial experience this becomes much harder and for that reason many students now try supplement their studies with real industry work experiences such as a summer internship and a year out in industry. The university makes it a bit easier for you as they advertise many internship opportunities available for students rather than you having to search online (hassle!). Every semester, the university hosts a careers fair for all types of courses (not only engineering) where employers come into campus and advertise their vacancies. These fairs are important as you not only make good contacts with the recruiters but you can ask them whether the job would suit you or any other job related queries. These fairs are really popular and the number of students that turn up for them is incredible.

Recently, the Careers Service introduced a mentoring scheme where current students are put in contact with Alumni in industry. I just finished this scheme and having a former student talk to you about how you can develop your career is really helpful especially because they have been in your shoes so they can advise you on what you can do.

I hope I have not scared you guys by talking about your future careers but it’s a worth a thought. The University has been very supportive in this regards and has made it much easier for students like me to explore their potential. If you want to know more about a career in Mechanical Engineering, please feel free to ask me. J