Ioseb Laghidze MEng Acoustical Engineering
Third year
Being one of two main institutions in the UK to teach Acoustical engineering I was initially attracted after reading about its highly esteemed engineering department. The biggest highlights of studying here would have to be the projects I have been involved in so far. Manufacturing something you’ve designed and simulated on the computer is one of the most gratifying experiences for me.
Why did you choose to come and study at Southampton?
Being one of two main institutions in the UK to teach Acoustical engineering I was initially attracted after reading about its highly esteemed engineering department. I was looking for a comprehensive course that covered both the physics and applications of sound and vibration from the ground up. I found myself intrigued by the range of modules the course offered alongside its great balance between theory and practical application.
What is it like studying here?
Studying at Southampton is a pleasant experience. The Highfield Campus is a beautiful place to study, being part of a vibrant and friendly student community.
Outside of studies, there is still plenty to do on campus. Highfield is usually very lively. There are many events throughout the year alongside a large variety of societies to join where you can meet fellow students with common interests. Alternatively, you can train in the Highfield gym, catch a play at Nuffield theatre or even watch a movie at the Union Films Cinema.
One of the most exciting aspects of the course is the practical experience gained through project work and laboratories.
The university provides a wide range of facilities and tools for conducting laboratory sessions, from electronics stations to the larger fluid mechanics machinery at the Boldrewood Campus. Laboratory sessions serve to complement your lectures and can last up to three hours, helping you further solidify theoretical concepts through practical application.
Overall, the course involves a fair amount of commitment and, admittedly, it can be quite challenging on occasion. You must be willing to put in the time and work to reap the full benefits - independent work is an important part of growth as a university student.
Rest assured however that help is readily available when needed. There is a wide variety of learning resources online and lectures themselves are often recorded. Additionally, lecturers are always within reach through email and usually very willing to make appointments should you wish to meet in person.
The first two years of the course.
During the first two years of the course, you find yourself covering a lot of groundwork in subjects such as fluid dynamics, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering alongside your Acoustics modules. Naturally, different fields of engineering can overlap each other in practice. These first two years help you shape a broad understanding of the underlying physics and how it all ties together. Within this period, you are also exposed to Python programming alongside signal processing and professional software packages such as Solidworks for 3D modelling.
You begin your dive into the individual and group project work from the first year. A truly memorable experience is the second year’s Loudspeaker project, where you and your group design and manufacture a Loudspeaker system to test within Highfield campus’s anechoic chamber. You are allowed a lot of creative freedom provided your final design meets the outlined technical specifications.
Years three and four
In years 3 and 4 of the MEng course you begin specialisation with your optional module choices. A variety of modules are available such as Aeroacoustics, Underwater acoustics and even biomedical signal processing. An up to date list of course modules is always available on the Acoustical Engineering page of the University website.
In the third and fourth years, you begin your core projects known as your Individual Project (IP) and Group Design Project (GDP) respectively - these are crucial parts of your degree that you will focus on extensively. A variety of engineering project choices are usually presented for you to pick from, but you also have the option of proposing your own project.
What are the study facilities like at the University?
I am very content with the study facilities on campus. To begin with, the university has world-class research facilities available to students for conducting project-related work and experiments. One of the largest anechoic chambers in the country is situated on campus. Other facilities include a smaller anechoic chamber, a reverberation chamber and several wind tunnels for aerodynamic related projects. An exhaustive list of all research facilities can be found online.
One of the most useful learning resources I have found at university are the freely accessible online databases for scientific journals and eBooks - in particular the University’s own Delphis database. In addition to this, the Hartley library has five floors of printed books available for short and long-term loans, where you can typically find books for your corresponding modules. Study rooms can also be booked in the library for holding group project meetings in a quiet and focused environment.
Computer workstations are available both in the library and engineering departments, the latter equipped with software such as Working Model 2D, Solidworks and the Anaconda Distribution (Python) for course related tasks. Free student licenses for proprietary software used throughout the course are additionally available online for downloading to your private machine – you can therefore freely work from home as needed.
As an engineering student, you also have access to workshops on campus where various machinery and tools (including 3D printers) are available for prototyping and manufacturing components for both individual and project related work. Staff are always available to ensure the correct safety procedures are followed when operating equipment and to provide help where needed.
All university facilities have an organised booking system accessible online. Where necessary, risk assessments and safety inductions are performed to ensure that you are always working in a safe and responsible manner.
What I am enjoying most about my course:
Projects and anything signal processing.
Notable examples of projects that were offered by the course during my studies:
Year 1, a group project involving the design and manufacturing of a loudspeaker horn made from ABS plastic via 3D printing. Simulations were run adjusting the curvature of the conical shape in order to meet a target boost in a specified frequency bandwidth.
Year 2 – Odometry project. Group design project involving the design of a mechatronic robot powered by an Arduino Uno microprocessor with instructions coded in C. Goal was to navigate several waypoints dropping off a payload (M&M) at key locations.
Year 2 – Loudspeaker Project – Group project for designing a custom loudspeaker cabinet with a digital filter crossover network on an Arduino Due device. Following the application of signal processing techniques in Python and simulations with lumped modelling analysis, a pyramidal Loudspeaker cabinet was assembled and tested in the large anechoic chamber. Our frequency response targets were met within the given bandwidth, and our final design was presented to representatives from KEF acoustics on campus. Our cabinet was selected as the winning design.
I am currently involved with 3D audio in augmented reality for my individual project (Part 3).
How I have found Southampton to live in.
Southampton is a charming town to live in. It is very lively with a lot of student activity and a friendly community as a whole. You’ll find plenty of live music events, societies and an active nightlife in town, especially in the centre. The town centre is approximately a 30-minute trip by bus from Highfield Campus. It is the ideal place to go shopping, with the West quay shopping centre housing over 100 different retailers.
There are several beautiful parks to explore throughout town (The Common, Riverside Park), alongside the medieval city walls, merchant homes and the Tudor house in the charismatic old town area.
A visit to the Solent Sky Museum near Ocean Village will introduce you to range of historical aircraft manufactured in Southampton during the 20th century, including the famous Supermarine Spitfire.
Southampton’s history also has ties with the RMS titanic, having set sail from here in 1912. The SeaCity museum houses a permanent exhibition dedicated the history of the Titanic and its connection to the town.
As a town that embraces its vibrant culture, I have found that there is always something to do in Southampton. With its welcoming community, it has gradually become a second home to me and to many fond memories.