George Johnson MEng Ship Science / Naval Architecture, 2015

Graduate Naval Architect – London Offshore Consultants/Longitude Engineering

I really enjoyed the Group Design Project as it was a culmination of everything we had learnt throughout the course. We put our knowledge into practice and also developed essential time, people, and budget management skills.

Can you provide a brief summary of your time at Southampton?

For the first two years Ship Science students shared a lot of modules with the Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics and Astronautics students. After that we specialised a lot more in the Ship modules which I found very interesting. Alongside core modules we had to complete an Individual research Project (third year) and a Group Design Project (fourth year), which was the exciting stuff!

What was the highlight of your time as a Southampton student?

I think my highlight would have been winning the Student Yachting World Championships in 2014 with our team representing Southampton and England at the six day event in France. Most of the team was made up of Ship Science students!

What did you enjoy most about your course?

Personally I enjoyed the Group Design Project the most. It was a culmination of everything we had learnt throughout the course as well as having to do some serious time, budget and people management.

Our group had to design, build and test an autonomous surface vessel which we completed successfully and it is now being used as a research test bed by the department. It took lots of early starts and late nights but it was very satisfying to see the vessel we had designed and built actually float and be able to navigate and propel itself.

What were your supervisors like? Did you find them supportive?

The course supervisors were a good mix of those who had been in academia for a long time and those had been in industry and had a good sense of how engineering practices are really applied. On the whole they were supportive – with the Group Design Project we were allowed to make a few mistakes, but I guess that is how you learn!

How did the facilities available at the University help you with your research and project work?

The engineering Faculty (and in particular Ship Science) has a large research contingent which is great for inspiring undergraduates by showcasing the top end of research, whether that’s supporting Olympians, America’s Cup teams or advanced computational propeller design; it demonstrates how a Ship Science degree can be used after graduation. The University’s impressive facilities – towing tanks, wind tunnels, super computers - available for postgraduate research are also available to undergraduates for their research so you can always turn to someone for advice on using the equipment to get the best results.

What is your current role?

I’m on a graduate scheme with London Offshore Consultants (LOC) whereby I rotate each year around different offices around different office in the Group. So far I’ve spent a year based in the London office (but with 13 weeks at various sites in Europe). I mainly worked with the shipping team and one of main lines of work was to provide technical advice to ship casualties, which at times could be very exciting. Now I’m working for LOCs sister company, Longitude Engineering, in Southampton, where we do more design based work.

What are your career ambitions?

In the mid-term, I’m aiming to get my Chartered Engineer status and then take it from there. I like getting out of the office and going and seeing things in person, so as much of that as possible.

In what ways has the course you took at Southampton helped to prepare you for your chosen career?

Obviously the academic side - being taught engineering principles – is the main bulk of the preparation for industry, but the supplementary skills such as time management, efficiency of working and group working are also essential. To be honest, I think that group working is the most important skill to have; it’s very likely that you’ll collaborate with someone else at some point in an engineering career.

What has been your greatest achievement so far?

Winning the Student Yachting World Championships has to be up there.

What advice would you offer to potential students?

If you’re not sure - keep your options open. Where possible, choose options that will allow you to become more specialised later rather than sooner, as you might change your mind!