Shaheer Hassan

Why I chose to study Automotive Engineering MSc at Loughborough

I chose to study at Loughborough because it is constantly ranked in the top 10 universities in the UK and after looking at similar courses across almost 20 other universities, I found the curriculum of the Automotive Engineering course at Loughborough is superior.

From my early childhood, I have been curious to learn new concepts which perhaps are the defining reason for my obsession with mechanical gadget teardowns, especially RC toy cars. I knew by studying this course I’d work on problems associated with the automotive industry and find solutions.

Being an international student

Coming from overseas, in the beginning, I felt anxious more anxious about how I would adjust to a new University than the country as I knew it would just be for one year, overall, I felt excited to begin my journey and experience life at Loughborough. The support staff and professors have been extremely welcoming and with a multicultural environment, I found I got used to my new life easily and felt at home relatively quickly.

My course experience

The Automotive Engineering course has provided me with new knowledge on a field I am destined to work in. The strong alumni network at companies like Jaguar and Ford are also powerful resources that I will use to grow and share my ideas. Likewise, the programme is a powerful resource that will allow me to build on my existing experience to become a stronger candidate for my future.

Beyond the degree, I have been provided with unparalleled experience to learn and grow in the automotive engineering industry. Through the course, I have learnt more about modern automotive engineering so that I can later go on to do research and solve real-world mechanical problems.

My greatest achievement during my time at Loughborough has got to be being selected as a course representative from my cohort. I felt truly honoured to be the voice of my students where I could provide senior staff with critical feedback on our experiences.

The teaching quality

The teaching quality is great with experienced professors and academic staff – my highlight is the hands-on approach of each module, including trips to the MIRA facility for vehicle testing and engine testing on a dynamometer. This approach was great at providing industrial exposure and enabled me to enhance my knowledge and practical skills to prepare me for when I graduate.

My projects

During my time here, I have worked on many projects including vehicle testing to assess the performance of vehicle sensors and navigation systems, vehicle powertrain functionality and straight-line performance at MIRA Horiba testing facility. I tested a Ford Sigma 4-stroke 1.6 SDGI Engine using a cell dynamometer to investigate the effect of the spark ignition timings on engine performance.

The most interesting part of this project was designing and implementing an extended Kalman filter algorithm on MATLAB/Simulink to estimate the vehicle’s motion by considering a landmark-based localisation problem and integrating a path following and path planning algorithm to guide an autonomous vehicle model.