After graduating, many engineering students go into roles that have no requirement for the specialist area of knowledge from their studied discipline. The main draw of doing a placement for me was having the opportunity to try a specialist role to help judge what kind of job I would like to eventually end up in. To this end, it was very successful as I now know I would prefer to retain an element of materials engineering.

Also, even without the DIS qualification (Diploma in Industrial Studies) itself, having a year of experience in an engineering workplace helps enormously in job application processes. Of course, the additional employment on a CV will help in getting to an interview in the first place, but once there the industry relevant experience will also help with answering questions and having examples to back them up.

I have had many proud moments at Loughborough, but I feel my greatest achievement is not a grade or one specific occasion. Instead, I believe my best has been in every time I have successfully worked through problems with course mates and come out feeling more confident on the other side. In my first two years, my familiarity with much of the maths content of our modules enabled me to assist several others who had a less maths-heavy background. Likewise, when I have struggled with more 'intense' theoretical aspects of modules course mates have stepped in to help. It is this pulling together and knowing how and when to use each other’s strengths that I consider my (/our) greatest achievement.