Chris Mechanical and Low Carbon Transport Engineering MEng
Course Dates: 2009 - 2013
Why Newcastle?
Newcastle is a vibrant and interesting city with plenty of social activities to keep you occupied. During my A-Levels I came to Newcastle University for a few days for a Headstart course which involved living in the student accommodation and experiencing what Mechanical Engineering was about. It was this experience which sold me the choice to choose Newcastle and I would highly recommend it to others.
Studying at Newcastle
The course is challenging, rewarding and extremely interesting. The work load is high in the first two years, mainly focusing on the fundamentals of engineering, but now in third year it has eased of and is much more about applying that knowledge to individual and team project work.
The facilities in the school are modern and always changing. It is clear to see that money is constantly been spent to improve the level of learning and the students experience. The modern computer cluster with 24 inch monitors and high specification CAD workstations makes 3D modelling as well as other work much easier and quicker.
The new course streams have introduced an industrial project in third year where you work as a team for an actual company completing projects useful for them. Mine involved writing a computer programme which monitors the environmental conditions in a furnace which the company were very thankful for as it has raised several issues within the process. It is an opportunity to gain experience and potentially can lead to paid work. My third year project is Formula Student which involves working as a team to design, test, build and race a single seat racing car. It is a very involved project but extremely rewarding and held in high regard by employers. It has led to two previous students getting jobs with the Red Bull Racing Team.
There are many opportunities to gain experience in the summer both at home and abroad. One such scheme finding placements for students abroad is IAESTE and I will hopefully work in Poland this summer for a company designing machinery for solder production.
Living in Newcastle
I currently live in Heaton which is a quieter and cheaper area of the city. There are nice parks and plenty of shops nearby, within an easy walk and good access to the city on the no. 1 bus route or the metro from Chillingham Road metro station.
