Southampton MEng student to embark on postgraduate research at one of the world’s best universities
MEng student Reshma Rao now has the enviable task of choosing between some of the world’s top universities for her PhD study. She has already been accepted by both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Cambridge, more interviews lie ahead and she will travel to the USA later in the year to meet the tutors at MIT.
“It’s all very exciting and it will be difficult to choose,” says the Mechanical Engineering student from Mumbai, India. “I’ve had a fantastic time studying in Southampton, everything has been amazing and I’m looking forward to the future.”
Reshma decided to travel to Southampton because of the reputation of Engineering in the university league tables: “My education has been first class but over and above that, everyone has been very friendly. I was met at Heathrow Airport when I first arrived, the academics are very approachable, especially my personal tutor Dr Suleiman Sharkh, and I have made many friends.”
The daughter of an electrical engineer, who grew up visiting dams and power stations with him, Reshma knew she wanted an academic career, right from the start of her time at Southampton. “I enjoy the freedom to research and look forward to carrying on this work at a higher level,” she says. During her MEng studies, she has tackled an individual project on wind turbine blades and is now working on a group design project in a human powered aircraft, but she believes her PhD work may involve research into renewable energy.