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The University of Southampton
EngineeringUndergraduate study

Denizcan Yuksek MEng Mechanical Engineering / Aerospace, 2020

Placement: Vehicle Programming Administrator, Jaguar Land Rover

Denizcan Yuksek's Photo

My placement is giving me tremendous opportunities. The skills and experiences I am developing at Jaguar Land Rover will be extremely important for my future career.

Why did you choose to come to Southampton?

"There were many reasons why I wanted to study at the University of Southampton, ranging from the excellence in the quality of teaching to its next-generation engineering facilities. The city welcomes students and has all you need while you are studying. All in all, it was an easy decision to join a university ranked in the top one per cent of the world.

Originally, I was interested in aerospace but during my first two years at Southampton I developed a passion for cars. When I started applying for a placement I was very impressed with what Jaguar Land Rover is doing and wanted to be part of it."

What is it like studying at the University of Southampton?

"The University of Southampton is excellent place to study engineering. If you structure your studies and work hard you’ll find your work-life balance is perfect with time to spare.

Safety around the campus is taken very seriously with security officers patrolling the campus at all times and providing a safe environment for all students.

Lecturers are always very supportive, whether you approach them at the end of a lecture, or send them an email, they will get back to you. Notes from the lectures are also available online as well. In terms of facilities and resources, there are many independent study areas."

What do you think of the specialist facilities?

"I am very impressed by the resources in Engineering. Our wind tunnel is used by major Formula 1 teams for their testing, and we can use it too for our own projects. Workshops in most of the engineering buildings have all the equipment you need for experiments and projects and are available for all students when we need to use them."

What have been the highlights of your course so far?

"I am proud of my achievements during my first two years, especially winning the iMechE Design project challenge, and receiving an award for being part of the Best Performing Mechanical Engineering Group at the University of Southampton. Being chosen to be one of 20 students to represent the University at Rolls-Royce Filton in Bristol was also an experience I will never forget, along with joining the Formula Student team."

Are you enjoying your placement?

"I wanted to undertake a placement so I could apply all the knowledge and skills I had acquired from my modules, projects and experiences at Southampton in a professional manner.

My placement is giving me tremendous opportunities and the highlight has been helping to devise a new braking system for supercars. The skills and experiences I am developing at Jaguar Land Rover will be extremely important for my future career. In addition to improving my knowledge of Computer-Aided Design (CAD), I am learning the professional communication skills and body language I will need to work with people from all over the world."

What are your plans for the future?

"After graduation, my aim is to start my career at a large engineering company such as Jaguar Land Rover and I hope to take up a graduate role. I would also like to become an IMechE chartered engineer to master my skills, and rise higher and faster in my career.

I must thank the University’s careers advisers for their help and support, especially in running careers fairs and providing specifically tailored advice to students facing new challenges such as assessment centre interviews."

Denizcan working at Jaguar Land Rover
Denizcan working at Jaguar Land Rover
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