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What is life like as an Academy (Cohort Three) student?

Daniel Mears
January 31, 2024

We caught up with our learners on Next Engineers Academy, Cohort 3 to find out about their experience so far as our newest learners!

 

Was Next Engineers: Engineering Academy what you expected it to be like? 

“It was better than expected and a much more relaxed and fun environment. The instructors are all friendly and we're all treated as equals. It's easy to share ideas and communicate even with new people in your class.”
- Niamh 

“I didn't really know what to expect of the course, I thought it may have been a bit too much like school where we just sat and learned but the activities have so far been interesting.”
- Maxwell

 

How did you feel when you found out you had been successful with your application? 

“I felt really proud when I was selected and excited to see where my journey could take me, especially as I have such a passion for motorsport, I felt really confident that the Next Engineers Programme could take me to where I wanted and help me achieve my dreams!”
- Niamh

“I was really pleased that I had been selected because I had put effort into my application and wanted it to pay off. It will also act as a really important insight into the workings of a project: the problem solving, etc.”
- Maxwell

 

What was your favourite part of your first day? 

“Even if your project fails, I enjoy meeting new team members and collaborating with them to create something. Working together to design and test something makes you feel really proud but it also helps you to reflect as a team and see where you can improve even if it's just about improving communication or time management.”
- Niamh

“I would say my favourite part of the days so far has been the elastic boat race because it involved the most thought into the design and the workings of the boat, especially into the slow release of the tension in the elastic band.”
- Maxwell

 

What are you looking forward to the most across your Academy experience? 

“I'm looking forward to the when we can apply our skills to real life examples even in our jobs in the future, and being able to look back knowing how much this programme trained us. In the next 3 years I'm looking forward to being able to meet people in the careers we aspire to and seeing how we can achieve those careers and goals.”
- Niamh

“I'm most looking forward to the tours of the different facilities and what they are doing there. I hope there will be some really interesting projects going on as we visit the sites.”
- Maxwell

 

If you would like to discuss the Next Engineers initiative further with our team you can contact us directly at nextengineers@tilg.co.uk.