Student Profile

About me

Name: Konstantinos
Course: Electrical & Electronic Engineering PhD
PhD Title: Physical Unclonable Function Cryptocore for IoT Applications
Study mode: Full time
Where I’m from: Greece

Choosing Newcastle

The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Newcastle University is one of the very few departments in Europe to provide a course on wireless embedded systems. Also, the School and the University as a whole have received numerous awards and positive reviews making my choice to study at Newcastle an easy one.

Studying at Newcastle

My time studying in Newcastle University has been very useful and fun. I was amazed by the academic and support staff who were very kind and eager to help in any aspect regarding my studies. Despite including world-class academics, the EEE School provides a relaxed environment for students to make full use of their time there.

The students here are very interesting, and the department runs lots of labs.

The independence of my PhD is great. I’m also part of a 20 person research group. The most different thing to my MSc and undergraduate study is the amount of responsibility I have for my own studies. As a PhD student you have to take charge. I also have my own office which is good.

Postgraduate Community

Newcastle University attracts high-level postgraduate students from all over the world, which creates a vibrant international community. Postgraduate students are very active, within societies of any kind to social media groups organising all kinds of activities.

As a PhD student I share an office with other students, where I do most of my work on campus. We have an Annual Conference in order to present our work to other students.

Funding my studies

My PhD is funded by a joint scholarship between the School of EEE and EPSRC.

Career aspirations

My mind was initially set on working in the industry as an engineer when I was starting my MSc, but since coming to Newcastle and especially after starting my PhD, I have been thinking of staying at the University for an academic career. I would like to stay at the University if I could.

Accommodation

Due to the huge number of students, Newcastle has a lot of accommodation options of all kinds. For the last two years I’ve been living in private student accommodation halls, Burgess House on St James’ Boulevard.

Living in Newcastle

Newcastle is a great city for a student to live in. It’s large and cosmopolitan enough to enjoy shopping, nights out and cultural activities while being small enough to easily travel in. On top of that, it is very much less expensive than other popular cities.

Remembering Newcastle

I’m still living in Newcastle and I’m quite enjoying it! The city is full of interesting things to do, from pubs and clubs to theatres and opera. My first months here were amazing, I couldn’t stop walking around the city and having a look at the sights and hidden gems.