Daniel Cudeiro Blanco MEng Mechanical Engineering

3rd year student

Mechanical Engineering offers the possibility of covering a wide variety of subjects (Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Law) without closing doors to other more specified fields, such as Astronautics and Aeronautics.

Brief summary of your time at Southampton?

I first arrived to Southampton from my home town in Spain on Thursday 19th September 2013, after being picked up by the Meet and Greet service from Heathrow airport. The university felt very big and confusing at the beginning, but I quickly made a lot of new friends and started the process of discovering the University and the city. By the end of my first year Southampton had become my second home. In my second year I live in a shared house with some of the best people I have ever met and life couldn’t get better. After doing a Spring Week in JP Morgan while doing my first year, I realized the importance of getting experience in different fields and I spent my second year studying and applying for interesting companies (initially for placements in the summer) as well as having fun with my friends.

It was later when I heard about the Semester in Industry theme, which gave me opportunity of doing a 6 months individual project placement while still studying. It was by the end of second year when Lloyd’s Register offered me the job at their Global Technology Centre in Bolderwood Campus. My placement has been a great experience so far and I have learned countless things about work-life, research and education.

Why did you choose to come to Southampton?

I made Southampton my first choice because of how the University and the curriculum looked: a modern well-funded University which offered a very competent curriculum both for careers in Academia and in Industry.

What have you enjoyed most about your course?

The thing I like most about my course was the good balance between self-work and taught classes. While not having many lectures, those gaps were filled with (some) interesting labs and helpful tutorials as well as study sessions. Being a large cohort of students it was very common to work together and help each other.

Would you recommend your course to other students?

I would strongly recommend it, especially for those who like to solve problems and are curious about how objects around you work, but also to those who may not want to specialise in a particular field yet. Mechanical Engineering offers the possibility of covering a wide variety of subjects (Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Law…) without closing doors to other more specified fields, such as Astronautics and Aeronautics. The individual and group projects prepare you for the real world at the same time as they give you an insight of what you like. It is also possible to gain further engineering competency by taking placements (such as the Semester in Industry theme which I will cover later) or joining extra-curricular activities such as the Formula Student team or Fish on Toast for entrepreneurs.

Have you undertaken a project as part of your course? What was your favourite part?

We have undertaking many projects over the last 3 years: the first one was to build a bridge between three independent teams, being the main challenge to coordinate the fabrication between 3 teams. On second year we did a small robot which had to go around a circuit (1 week) and a 3D printer (second semester). However, the project I have enjoyed most so far has been my individual project on third year.

I started it when I joined Lloyds Register, and it really has taught me a lot. What I have liked most of it was the opportunity of starting something from scratch, of planning my own time and deadlines as well as setting my objectives. My work has been very successful and hopefully we will manage to present it at an international conference.

What are your lecturers and tutors like? Have you found them supportive?

Yes when I have needed some help from my tutor, he’s always been helpful.

How are you finding your placement and what are you doing?

I am really enjoying my placement and it think it has been a great opportunity so far. The fact that my placement is based in Lloyd’s Register (LR) Global Technology Centre, which is in Bolderwood campus, allows me to continue my studies and have full access to the library for my research, as well as it allows me to have face to face meetings with my both academic and industrial supervisors. It has been the University of Southampton – Lloyd’s Register partnership which has allowed me to work here without losing the flexibility of attending seminars and participate in student life (societies, events).

I have been working on a self-proposed project for the development of a new approach for damage characterization in ship structures. On a daily basis I read scientific papers, prepare numerical models and use my engineering judgment and specialized software packages to analyse results. I have been able to write a scientific paper which has been accepted at an international conference.

How have your studies on your course prepared you for your placement?

The University teaches you how to learn independently at the same time giving you the background and soft-skills which are necessary to conduct further learning.

Once in the professional world, it is most common to specialize in one field. You may not need to be proficient at the other aspects, but having a view of the whole picture makes you a more competent engineer who can understand the impact and interaction of his/her designs with other aspects of the product. The engineering profession is very broad, constant learning and revision of the methodology is always necessary and the learning process never ends.

What have you learnt and how have you benefitted from the experience so far?

Working at Lloyd’s Register has led me to further develop my technical knowledge and soft-skills. I am now more competent with computer programming, conducting independent research, communicating effectively with others (express my ideas better, quicker), and presenting my work in front of technical and non-technical audiences. I have also gained respect from my superiors and colleagues by proving my competency as a problem-solver and researcher.

Why did you choose to do your Semester placement at this company?

I am very interested in the field of materials and its implications for the design of structures, and the title of my project theme at Lloyd’s Register seemed very attractive and linked to my interests. Also, I found later that I very much share Lloyd’s Register work ethics and that the work environment here at the Global Technology Centre fits well with my personality and needs.

What are your career plans after you’ve completed your course?

I am planning on finishing my integrated masters course (MEng) and then pursuing and MSc in Material Science at another university, possibility in the U.S. Work-wise, I am open to new fields within Technology but, ideally, I would like to be working for a company which shares my ambition for innovation and that seeks to be constantly improving in all aspects, but a company that also has good work ethics and values I share.

I am also in the process of gathering a multidisciplinary team of students to launch a start-up company locally in Southampton and would like to keep collaborating with Lloyd’s Register in the future.

How do you think your course will help you in your future career?

My course has provided me with the soft and technical skills I need to further learn as I progress in my career. The University of Southampton offers opportunity at other top 1% Universities in the world, as well as it will attract industry recruiters.

Also and because the University is very international, I have been able to establish good relations with people from all over the world, having now gained global links which could, one day, lead to business/work opportunities.

If you could give prospective students one piece of advice, what would it be?

Get involved. Do not think that being at University and going to lectures is the only thing that you’re supposed to do. I see University in the UK the following way: you are given the freedom to learn what you want and at the speed you want. No-one is going to tell you to read this or do that and it is completely up to you to set your learning goals. You can learn from your courses but these are just a mere introduction to the many topics of the engineering profession. If you are not sure what you want to specialize or do in the future, then go to the library, read books about the topics you might be interesting in and also join societies where you can put your knowledge into practice (such as the Formula Student Society).