Southampton brought Lucy's interests in electronics and the human body together. Over her 4-year course, she developed from having limited programming experience to a skilled coder specialising in control theory. She also published a journal article, developed strong communication skills and gained the confidence to lead projects.
Building the foundations for research
My undergraduate degree increased my knowledge of both electronics and biomedical engineering massively. Before I started I had very little programming experience and I wasn’t hugely computer literate, and that has changed entirely. I now spend a large amount of my time writing code and really love it.
I also grew a lot as a person, especially in terms of interpersonal communication and teamworking skills. When I started the MEng I was pretty worried about the amount of teamwork required in the course, but this ended up being one of my favourite parts.
Encouraging ambition
I began my third year with a very ambitious project idea, but my supervisor was really enthusiastic and supportive. It was a bit of a risk, but it paid off as we ended up writing a journal paper that got published in a peer-reviewed journal before I finished my degree.
"This is something I never would have considered if it wasn’t for my supervisor and academic tutor, who were both incredibly encouraging."
Lucy, PhD student
I thought about finishing my degree after the third year and going into PhD research then, but I’m really glad I continued into the fourth year. It gave me a lot of additional technical expertise as well as project management and problem-solving skills that I’m now using in my PhD.
I’m glad I was able to stay at Southampton too. I love living here and I’ve had so much advice and guidance from the academics.
Real-world industry experience
I undertook paid internships at Sky between each year of my degree through a scheme run by the UK Electronics Skills Foundation. Southampton has a good acceptance rate for students applying to the scheme and I’d definitely recommend going for it.
It was fantastic experience and helped me gain a lot of confidence in the electronics side of the course, as well as experience of the work environment.
Advancing stroke rehabilitation technology
My PhD is in stroke rehabilitation technology, specifically functional electrical stimulation. That is the application of electricity to the nerves to activate a person’s muscles and generate movement. The aim is to help develop technology that people can use in their own home rather than in hospital to regain their mobility after a stroke.
Leadership and communication
Since starting my PhD, I’ve organised a lot of group events and started new projects, which I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do without having done the degree. For example, I’ve set up a weekly journal club – like a reading group but for research papers – and I host a podcast called Coffee and Control where I interview interesting people from the world of control theory research.
Another highlight is the Three Minute Thesis competition, in which the aim is to explain your research to a general audience in under three minutes. I ended up winning the University finals, which was super exciting!
I’m still weighing up whether to go into industry or stay in academia after my PhD. Either way, the opportunities I’ve been able to take part in at Southampton have widened the options for my future career.