An education from the University of Sheffield relieves you of your mental barriers and opens a world of opportunities
What did you do before coming to Sheffield?
I completed my undergraduate degree in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur. During my degree I worked as the Publicity Head for my institute’s technical festival - I was responsible for a 200-member-strong publicity team, and gained a massive participation of over 5000 students for the three-day event.
After completing my degree, I worked on new product development in the manufacturing industry for two years, and was also responsible for handling customer complaints. My tasks involved coordinating with international customers like Nissan, Daimler, GKN and Hyundai among others.
Why did you choose to come to Sheffield?
Sheffield has a long history of metallurgy; it's known as the birthplace of Stainless Steel and has given India some of its famous metallurgists, like Dr T Mukherjee. The MMet degree, in particular, is very old and has a good reputation in India. Apart from this, the current research in metallurgy is very exciting at the university, due to its association with the AMRC and numerous industrial partners like Rolls Royce, Tata Steel, GKN among others.
What did you like about studying in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering?
I think the most enjoyable thing about studying my subject at the University of Sheffield was the diversity - studying with people from different ethnicities and backgrounds makes university life colourful. Interacting with them, you learn much more than just your course. It also gives you an idea about the local employment market and opportunities in different parts of the globe, which can be very useful for me as a budding entrepreneur.
The most valuable aspect of my course was project work. The course provided me with the opportunity to work on an individual, real-life project. The research group and the university staff are very helpful and you'll learn a lot of new skills working on your project. The mentors let you drive your own project, giving you the freedom to choose your own topic or research area and conduct your own study.
The teaching at the University is quite interactive; it requires active participation and involvement. You will be given group assignments and software-based assignments, where you will have to learn some new software based on video lectures and online study material, and in the class, there will be polls and quizzes. All this makes learning fun and you start to appreciate the concepts being taught.
The biggest benefit of an education from the University of Sheffield is that it relieves you of your mental barriers and opens a world of opportunities for you. You can see and admire the cutting edge research at the university and see real businesses that have grown out of it, for example, Ossilla.
What did you get out of University life?
The best thing about university life is that there is so much you can do here - there's a society for almost everything that you can think of! Coming here offers the best student experience - it provides you with the opportunity to meet with new people, make new friends, explore new hobbies and activities while working for a cause you care about.
Throughout my course, I have gained good exposure to advanced manufacturing technologies, got working knowledge about modelling and testing equipment and made good friends.
What advice would you give to prospective students?
The advice I would give to prospective students is to try to know about the professors and the ongoing research and try contacting some of the alumni. Try to figure out an area of interest for the project and if possible write to the professors. The more you know about it beforehand, the earlier you can start when you arrive.