When deciding which university to choose, it was important to me that the university provided a lot of opportunities for me to gain industrial experience while I was studying. Having heard that Loughborough was one of the first universities to offer the industrial placement year during the degree, I felt that Loughborough would be able to provide the support I needed to be able to secure a placement.
Loughborough also offers the professional development project (PDP) as part of the Chemical Engineering degree, which is a third-year research project. Unlike with other universities, Loughborough provides the opportunity for students to conduct their PDP project abroad and/or with an industrial partner. Therefore, since being at Loughborough, I have been able to gain two different work experiences from both the industrial placement and PDP project, with two different organisations. This opportunity, which is unique to Loughborough, I believe will benefit me massively in my future outside of my studies.
My main reason for choosing Chemical Engineering at university is the wide range of career opportunities that are available. Comparing the career paths for my friends who are also on my course, these range from nuclear and car manufacturing to pharmaceutical, food engineering and finance. I believe this wide range of choices is good for people who want to study engineering, but still want the flexibility within their degree so that their career options post university are not limited. This wide variety of career paths is also reflected in the teaching here at Loughborough university which offers a large range of optional modules that provide an insight into many different career options.