Sam Sheehy MEng Mechanical Engineering / Sustainable Energy Systems

Southampton was a top choice of mine because of the Sustainable Energy theme available, in addition to its reputation and the exciting courses offered. I was also attracted by the structure of the Mechanical Engineering course and the way design projects are completed in the final years.

Why did you choose to study at the University of Southampton?

Southampton was a top choice of mine because it combines exciting courses along with the 'sustainable energy’ theme, all while having a great reputation. Another attraction was how the University gives us an individual project in third year, followed by a group project in fourth year – the opposite from other universities I was considering. I knew it was better to have the group project last, so the choice was easy.

Why did you choose the Sustainable Energy Systems pathway?

Renewable energy is becoming an increasingly important and dominant sector in the engineering industry. It combines key topics such as thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, which are transferable to most scenarios you could encounter, and critical to any energy related field.

What have you enjoyed most about your course so far?

The University's staff have us perform an immense amount of group work, in either writing analytical reports or doing more practical, hands-on projects. Considering that the entire engineering industry is founded on collaboration, these assignments have been incredibly formative. They appear in every semester and the faculty provides us with generous resources that allow us to make some interesting products.

Please can you provide a summary of your group project?

The aim of our project is to design and build an electric motorbike that can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds. Building upon the chassis of a stripped petrol bike, we are redesigning the drivetrain and power supply system to supply 25 kilowatts of power to the back wheel from a fully electric energy source.