Meet Our International Engineering Ambassador – George Boufidis

Why did you choose your course?

My passion for engineering started while playing with LEGO and was later reinforced with the FIRST® robotics competitions during high school. At the time, I felt that I was just playing a game doing something that I loved; using my hands and mind to solve problems and challenges quicker and better than others. In fact, I was learning engineering principles using trial and error. I knew then that I had to follow a mechanical Engineering career.

What have you enjoyed most about your course so far?

I have really enjoyed all the design modules that we had. Building on the knowledge from the more technical courses, we were given challenges and often had a competition between our year. Through that gamification we were pushed to learn more and try hard to find innovation.

What do you think about Sheffield as a city?

Sheffield is great! It feels like a small city in terms of the short walking distances and the friendly vibe, while having everything that you need. It is a very green city with Peak District just on its outskirts. Be prepared for a few hills though 🙂

Have you got any particular academic achievements or extra-curricular achievements you’d like to highlight?

One of my favourite experiences throughout the degree was the participation in many extracurricular activities. I have enhanced so much my learning outcome gaining practical knowledge that can’t be taught in any module. As a highlight, I was part of Sheffield Formula Racing team since my first year, and now I am leading the entire team. I have gained knowledge from practical design to softer skills such as communication and leadership.

What are your ambitions after completing your degree?

My ambition is to use my knowledge and skill set and at some point, be able to apply them through an innovative company in my home country, Greece.

What would you say to a younger student if they are considering studying engineering/science/maths at university?

I could never tell you what it would be like studying something else. What I can tell you is that through a STEM education you will be able to tackle the world’s most difficult problems. As engineers we have the power and responsibility to change the world for the better.

Why did you decide to do a Year in Industry?

I decided to do a Year in Industry to gain professional experience before my graduation.

How did you secure your Year in Industry placement?

At the start of my third year, I started applying to internship programs. At the same time, I had all the guidance that I needed from the university’s Year in Industry team that gave me comments on my CV and provide preparation for interviews and assessment centres.

Where did you do your Year in Industry placement? Please provide the company name and location.

Williams Racing, Grove, UK

Can you give a brief overview about what your placement involved e.g. job title, overview of main responsibilities/ projects you were working on?

As a mechanical design engineer, I was making parts and systems to enhance performance, solve problems, be easy to manufacture, cost-effective, safe to use, and last but not least be aesthetically pleasant (particularly for pit equipment).

What did you enjoy most about your Year in Industry?

I really enjoyed the fast-paced environment and the very steep learning curve that I was on. It was very rewarding being thrusted as a permeated and given jobs that could have an impact.

How did your placement influence your plans for your future career?

My placement solidified my love for mechanical design and informed my focus when applying for graduate roles.

My Year in Industry – An insight into working life following graduation

By Ioan-Alexandru Herdea

Note: This post was written before the COVID-19 outbreak. Please ensure you follow all the latest guidelines of the government. You can check the University’s updates at sheffield.ac.uk/coronavirus

Most of you are aware of there is an option to take a “Year in Industry” as part of your course. It’s pretty much like a side to your order before you join university. A Year in Industry is described as the following, “Work for a big company and enhance your CV alongside making new contacts in the industry”, which is true. A name such as Goldman Sachs, ZF – the company I worked for or Apple, on your CV is a great advantage when applying for graduate jobs. Firstly, such names come with an outstanding reputation and shows your employer you have learnt a valuable set of skills. 

The company I worked for is called ZF. It is a multinational corporation in the automotive in the UK is located in Birmingham. They are in charge of R&D for electric motors for cars’ steering systems. It’s quite fancy when you read the job description and more especially when you see they are looking for Matlab engineers. Working with Matlab was the most important factors when searching for jobs, as I love it very much. 

Now, everyone knows there are advantages and disadvantages with big companies. Some of the pros for working there are a high salary, cultural diversity, the latest technology to work with and things like that. On the other hand, having many diverse employees, as a company you have to level your offerings in order to satisfy everyone. We were fortunate enough to have a canteen and ZF, which was cheaper than restaurants but after a month, I started to cook my own food try different local restaurants. As there were so many employees, it meant I was able to work on many projects and when someone is involved in at least 4, don’t expect a lot of availability from that person. An example of this was my manager who was simultaneously active in 6 projects. Honestly, he was barely able to help me directly, so he was always putting me in contact with others that could.

During my placement I noticed that it is very common for employees to work for different  companies every 3-4 years. There were many employees who left ZF for JLR then JLR for BMW then BMW to come back to ZF for better career opportunities. From this I understood it’s the corporation environment, not the company itself that keeps people working under big brands thus allowing freedom to try something new. Although that freedom is in a closed circuit because most of the times it’s not worth switching to an unknown company.

Being on placement for a year, I can say that the experience teaches you what you want from your future. You can either hate it so much you will start a PhD or a Start-Up or love it enough to return and join a graduate scheme. This is the reason I would definitely recommend this experience. It allows you to get an impression of what your working life may be like after graduation and avoid possibly irreversible mistakes when you are older.

Click this link, to listen to my presentation about my Year in Industry at ZF.

Placement Diaries-Derailed in London by Rishi Parwani

Wednesday, 28 February 2018

In this new series of blog posts, I bring to you a long overdue recount of my experiences so far on my year in industry in London.

I find it funny how I spent more time trying to come up with a pun related title for this post than I did for the actual content. Lost? Don’t worry, I’ll get you back ‘on track’.

It’s been nearly 6 months now since I’ve been on placement with the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) down in London and I have to say, what an experience it has been so far! I will start by giving you all a bit of background on the company I am on placement with. RSSB is member-funded organisation that carries out research projects, sets standards, promotes sustainable principles and drives to improve Britain’s rail industry. I’ll need more than a year to gain an appreciation for the sheer magnitude of the rail industry in this country – it truly is an engineering marvel and one that is so complex and intricate.

Now, as to my role. What is it that I do, you may ask? I’m currently one of the three Student Research Analysts working in the Research & Development team, writing knowledge searches and contributing to Horizon Scanning activities. Knowledge searches are requested both internally and externally from our members in industry and the topics can range from anything from detailing all the mechatronics engineering solutions used in rail, to geotechnical engineering solutions. Horizon Scanning is a new addition to the department’s portfolio and it’s all about finding what technologies and trends are on the horizon and how we can capture them before they become mainstream in the news. As a team, we’ve been going through all the latest, up and coming emerging technologies and looking at their future impacts on the rail industry and where they are used in other industries. My day can begin by looking at the impacts of driverless cars on the rail industry to figuring out the mechanical processes behind 4D printing (yes, that is a thing).

The other aspect of my job that I love is the fact that I get to live and work in London! The office is in a great location in Central London however I’ll talk more about London life in another post. As much as I do miss Sheffield, I keep thinking that I’ll probably end up missing London 10 times more when I’m back for my final year.

The work here is varied and if you’re as much of a tech geek as I am, then you’ll love this job. This is the time to get your inner engineer to shine and to show off what you know about in areas of technology ranging from driverless cars to additive manufacturing to biometrics and facial recognition.

If this placement opportunity sounds interesting to you, APPLY. The placement is currently listed on Career Connect (https://careerconnect.sheffield.ac.uk/student/jobs.html?execution=e1s2).

The deadline is March 1^st so for those who are still looking for a year-long placement, you have just about a week to send your CV and covering letter toplacements@rssb.co.uk

Interview with a student after their Placement Year

Monday, 25 April 2016

By Muhammad Shuja

This blog is a transcript of an interview I took with a final year Bioengineering student at Sheffield who came back after completing her industrial placement, to give you an idea about the application procedures and how degrees with placement years can be beneficial.

Question: Tell me about yourself.
Answer: My name is Hira Nayyar and I am currently in my final year of Bioengineering. I was originally born in Pakistan but moved to the UK at the age of 7.

Question: Where did you do your placement year?
Answer: After successfully completing my second year of Bioengineering, I was able to secure a placement at Philips Healthcare.

Question: How was your time at the firm?
Answer: Being one of the global leaders in Healthcare, I could not have asked for a better place to start my career in engineering. I was given various opportunities and experiences that developed into a better engineer. Philips gave me a platform to showcase my existing skills, yet further enhanced and added to them.

Question: On a scale of 1-10, 1 being very easy and 10 being very difficult, how would you rate the difficulty of the application procedure? And why?
Answer: I would rate the application procedure a 7 as the process was lengthy and challenging due to the mixture of video interviews and competency based application procedures.

Question: Where did you look for placements?
Answer: I used various sites like GradCracker, prospectus and the University Careers Service.

Question: What factors do you think should be considered before applying to a firm?
Answer: A related degree, similar past experiences and if the chosen firm can develop on an applicant’s existing skills.

Question: How would you say graduating with a placement affects your employability after graduation?
Answer: In my opinion having placement experience affects employability immensely, as employers look for graduates who are well groomed. Someone that has had business exposure and knows how to apply their technical knowledge from University to real-life problems.

Question: What advice do you have for prospective students or students looking for placements?

Answer: If you’re looking for placements, apply as soon as possible and don’t be disheartened at the first few rejections. Keep updating your CV and tailor your application and it eventually gets through.

Question: Do I have your consent of posting a transcript of this conversation online?
Answer: Yes.

Thanks a lot for your time!

Click here to get more information about placements: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/placements

Applying for a Year in Industry

Thursday, 5 February 2015

By Usman Sami Khan

One of the misconceptions I had before coming to university, and I’m sure a lot of you will have too, is the very basic question of: What is a Year in Industry?

A Year in Industry can be undertaken as part of both your BEng and MEng degree, in the penultimate year of both the respective degrees. This involves taking a year out of your academics to pursue a 12 month paid internship in a company, which gives you the right amount of exposure to applying all the theoretical aspect of engineering to practicality. This also gives you a chance to impress prospective employers, who may offer you a graduate role in the company upon completion of your placement year.

Actively intending to pursue a placement year as part of my BEng Mechanical Engineering degree, much of my time in the first semester of second year has been spent applying to various companies in the UK. The University of Sheffield’s Career Service offers the myVacancies service which actively shows any work placement postings and deadlines, which help you find posts to apply for. Apart from the university’s resources, there are various other job boards such as TargetJobs and Gradcracker, all of which post placement positions according to their deadlines.

These applications are very hectic and time consuming, as each application presents different questions to be answered. After successfully passing the first stage, companies usually send links to online tests which usually involve a combination of numerical, verbal, situational, and personality based questionnaires, which helps the employer to screen applicants according to their capabilities to proceed them onto the next stage. The next stage involves a telephone or video interview, which involves basic competency based questions, including motivations for applying to the specific company and the role. After successfully passing this stage, applicants are screened onto the last stage, which is an assessment centre at the location you have applied for a placement. The day involves a chance to learn more about the company and the role, including the working environment and how employees feel about working in the company. It gives a chance to network with senior officials in the company over lunch, which helps to get to know officials in a lighter environment.  Apart from networking and building contacts, the day also involves a technical and competency based interview, which tests your basic knowledge for the role you have applied to. The day will also involve a combination of a presentation, group work, or an aptitude test, amongst other things.

Having applied to numerous companies for a placement year, I have started hearing back from quite a few and have currently got eight assessment centres lined up for February, which will take up quite a bit of time in my schedule for academics. Here’s to hoping that this information helps all of you in making an informed decision about which degree course to choose and how to go about applying for placements!