Hannah Fitzpatrick MEng Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2016

The projects taught me that I could work well independently and gave me more confidence. I completed an Independent Project on space debris and it was really interesting. The specific project I did was the first time it had been done worldwide, so that was really exciting!

I chose Southampton mainly because of the campus. I was choosing between Durham and Southampton, but the structure of the course, and the fact that it was aero all the way through, made it seem a lot better. I was also really impressed by the University’s alumni, such as Adrian Newey.

The projects taught me that I could work well independently and gave me more confidence. In my Independent Project, I did really well and got a First. It proved to me that I could do this! The project I completed on space debris, which I knew nothing about before, was really interesting. The specific project I did was the first time it had been done worldwide so to be able to give some new information was really exciting!

In my Group Project, we designed a small scale satellite constellation to give global internet. Again, this wasn’t something I hadn’t expected to do before coming to Southampton but it was so interesting and I really enjoyed it.

I chose Aeronautics and Astronautics initially because I wanted to go into motorsports. After the first year, I decided that maybe wasn’t for me. As I went through my degree, I found that loved the space side of things, and I’ve also completed some business and management related modules.

After the summer I'll be starting my job as a graduate engineer. My degree helped me a lot in securing my job and gave me a lot to talk about. They were interested in my projects, and completing an interesting independent project really helped!'