Meet the 2015 Languages Undergraduate of the Year Award winner!

Name: Aysel Kucuksu
University: Queen Mary University of London
Course: LLB English and European Law

Aysel won the Languages Undergraduate of the Year Award 2015 with EU Careers and still now can't believe she won!! 

I was on my year abroad in Denmark when I first saw an email from the Law department at Queen Mary, University of London outlining the various categories one could compete in as part of the ‘Undergraduate of the Year’ competition. Although the title itself was intimidating, I really wanted to challenge myself. Besides, the Languages Award seemed to accommodate for my love for languages without making a degree in it a prerequisite for an application, so I knew I could not miss this opportunity. The prospect of networking with fellow language enthusiasts and EU professionals as early as the Assessment Day stage also had its say in prompting me to apply; not to mention the opportunity to visit Brussels, the ultimate destination for lawyers and linguists alike.

Embarking onto the application process had its tough moments, however. The elaborate six stages I had to go through, varying from interviews, through essay writing, to psychometric tests (definitely as terrifying as they sound), were really designed to seep out the best candidates. So much so that by the time I reached the Assessment Day stage, I knew just how tough a competition the people I met during it would be. They were smart, ambitious, and coming from a plethora of educational backgrounds, and they also made for a great conversation. The Assessment day was probably the best stage of the application process precisely because I got to interact with these incredible individuals, some of whom I now call my friends.

The highlight of the competition was unquestionably the East Wintergarden dinner at Canary Wharf, however entering this outstanding venue, I was incredibly flattered by the effort that was put into the event and impressed by TARGETjob's remarkable attention to detail. Having Fiona Bruce as our host for the evening was the cherry on top of the cake. After a few lovely conversations, several delicious courses, and a couple of Fiona’s stories, it was time to announce the winners. Hearing each winner’s bio's before the time for the Languages Award came, I felt both extremely delighted and privileged to join their ranks once my name was announced.

Today, almost a month after the event in Canary Wharf, I still have not managed to shake off the excitement from it. With my trip to Brussels yet to happen, I am in constant conversation with a number of EU professionals, who are going above and beyond their duties to accommodate for my interests when it comes to visiting the city and its institutions. A month on and I cannot help but think about how lucky I am for getting this recognition simply for immersing myself into doing something I love.

Congratulations Aysel and to all the other finalists!

Pre-registration for the 2016 Awards is now open here! undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

Meet the Computer Science Undergraduate of the Year Award winner for 2015!

Name: Chelsea Sievewright
University: University of Abertay Dundee
Course: Ethical Hacking and Countermeasures

Chelsea is the 2015 winner of the Computer Science Undergraduate of the Year Award with CGI! Chelsea has attended other events with us so we knew how great she was and she now hope to inspire other girls into a career in technology!


Having been to the IT’s not just for the boys! a few times, I was aware of the various events that TARGETJobs held. However, with my fourth year being so busy I didn't consider applying for the Computer Science Undergraduate of the Year Award at all.  But then I received an email from Katy at TARGETJobs Events a few days before the deadline urging me to apply. I thought, although the application will take me a while, I might as well go for it because I have nothing to lose! So I did, and to be honest, I can’t believe I'm now writing the winners blog! 

The initial application was similar to most jobs applications, which I had become accustomed to in my search for a graduate job. The online tests had put me off applying because they do take a while but I made sure I had no distractions and took the time to complete them. I thought I’d be rejected after this point, but actually, my results ended up being in the top 5 and CGI put me through to the assessment centre! I think all my previous practice really paid off when it mattered. 

I flew down to Reading for the assessment centre and expected it to be really hard and daunting, after all, I was competing in a UK wide competition. But in reality it was the opposite of what I expected, I enjoyed my assessment centre, it was fun and really relaxed. 

So then I got to the final….I couldn't believe it! From my small University in Dundee, I actually made it to a National final, in London. Amazing! I was super chuffed and so was my University. They wrote a news article about my place in the Final 10 and from this I received a request from the BBC to do a Radio Interview for BBC Radio Scotland. Without even winning I really got a huge amount of publicity which is great as a student. 

The final in Canary Wharf was unbelievable. The venue was grand, the food was exceptional and hearing Fiona Bruce reminisce on her student days was incredible. But then the nerves kicked in when the winners were to be announced, Computer Science was the first award and I knew I would have been so gutted if I didn't win, but I did not expect my name to be called out and my bio read out by Fiona Bruce!! I'm still in shock, walking up to the stage to get my award was so surreal and the amount of support I received from my University, friends, family, people I don’t even know and employers, past, present and future was just amazing and I want to thank them all for their support. 

I have worked so hard over the last four years at University that I feel I deserve it, but also it is an amazing achievement for women in tech. Hopefully by me winning this award, younger females will be inspired to choose a career in computing and will not be put off by the stereotype which surrounds computer science!



Congratulations Chelsea and to all the other finalists!
Pre-registration for the 2016 Awards is now open here! undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

We meet the first ever winner of the The Future CFO of the Year Award!

Name: Aataullah Naser
University: University of Manchester
Course: Masters of Mathematics

Aataullah is the first ever winner of the The Future CFO of the Year Award with ACCA! He wasn't really that bothered about it to begin with and never dreamed he'd get as far as he did!


Initially, when it came to the application I was not fussed as much as you would expect. Not due to apathy but because of revision! I wrote out my application form, nonetheless as best as I could, whilst juggling revision for exams. Continuing my revision, I could only hope for the best.

Then, one afternoon as I was getting home from the library, I received a call from TARGETJobs about completing the online tests and the lovely lady on the line (who I would like to thank very much!), told me looking at my application she believed I was a real contender to win the Future CFO of the Year Award. This really helped motivate me to get as far as I could in the competition. I gave my utter best during each online test, and a short few weeks later I received an email from ACCA Global inviting me to an assessment centre. I was excited to have got so far already!

The assessment centre at ACCA Global was a brilliant experience that had helped me develop in many ways. Some of the tasks were truly difficult, but I believe completing them helped me develop skills such as communicating, problem solving, and presenting, in ways that I have never been able to throughout my degree. I met many amazing people at the assessment centre who each in my opinion were worthy of the award. As a result, I had doubts of becoming a finalist after witnessing how well each short-listed candidate did.

When it came to finding out I was a finalist I was truly astounded, I felt that everyone did so well at the assessment centre and it would be impossible to get this far! Nonetheless, I was excited for being a step closer to potentially winning an Undergraduate of the Year Award! I was excited to visit Canary Wharf and the venue for the awards was just superb. I had a great time speaking to my fellow finalists and the people at ACCA Global. At the time, despite if I won or not I already felt having come this far was an excellent achievement and everything I had experienced would help me in the future, especially when it came to applying for jobs.

As Fiona was calling out the finalists and winners, I was unsure of what to think about my category. As it grew closer and closer, I was becoming more nervous but my mind was completely blank! Once my name was called out I was in complete shock, never expecting that I would win! It was a fantastic feeling and being presented by Helen Brand, Chief Executive at ACCA Global and Fiona Bruce was the cherry on top!

Winning such a prestigious award has been a brilliant experience, looking back in January, I had no idea I would get so far but if I never tried the chance of me winning would not even exist. I encourage everyone in the same shoes as I was to apply, you never know just how far you may get!




Congratulations Aataullah and to all the other finalists!
Apply for the 2016 Awards here! undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

We meet the Construction, Engineering & Design Undergraduate of the Year 2015!!

Name: Jessica Dowdy
University: Oxford Brookes University
Course: Construction Project Management

Jessica is the Construction, Engineering & Design Undergraduate of the Year 2015 with Laing O'Rourke! She never thought that she'd win let alone be planning a two month trip to Australia!


The process began for me when I visited the TARGETJobs stall at a careers fair during my first year of university. Over the next couple of years I received weekly emails of job opportunities in my sector, including industrial and summer placements. While these were always interesting to read, I was not in the position where I could utilise these opportunities as I already had placements arranged. However, receiving emails with the words ‘Undergraduate of the Year Awards’ in the subject line did draw my attention. As I read through the emails and information provided, I thought this was a great opportunity and was highly impressed by what I had read about previous winners. Whilst reaching the final never even crossed my mind at this stage, I had been through a similar process for a slightly different award the year before which had gone a lot better than expected. Therefore, after careful consideration and discussions with various peers, I decided to enter into the competition, with the opinion that it was likely to be an invaluable experience and I had nothing to lose. Little did I know, I had a lot to gain!

The application stages were nearing the end when I chose to apply, so I had little time to fill in my personal details and answer the award-specific questions from the sponsor, Laing O’Rourke. Admittedly, I was so pre-occupied at work that I would have missed the completion deadline had I not received a call from one of the TARGETJobs Events team reminding me to finish my application, so thank you for that! The questions were thought provoking and challenging to answer within the word limit; yet they allowed me to express my views on two topics which I am very interested in so I enjoyed completing them. By contrast, I found the online tests really difficult and thought there was no chance I would be continuing to the next stage!

A couple of weeks later I received an email informing me that I had been invited to the Assessment Day with Laing O’Rourke at one of their offices. Nervous yet excited, I travelled up towards Nottinghamshire for what was a challenging but thoroughly enjoyable day. It was great to share experiences with the other candidates and to meet the assessors, some of which had been in a similar position to all of us not so long ago. We were even fortunate enough to gain an insight into the very technical and innovative engineering techniques through a factory tour of the Explore Industrial Park, where the off-site manufacturing takes place. Regardless of the next stages of the competition, I felt very grateful for the experience and it was wonderful to meet so many talented people; both assessors and fellow students.

Following on from this, the ten finalists received an email inviting them to the Grand Final in Canary Wharf; this was a shock to say the least! Receiving the invitation through the post and discovering that Fiona Bruce would be presenting was the icing on the cake as I have been inspired by her work over the last few years. The day itself was wonderful. Sitting in a room surrounded by so many talented, ambitious and hard-working finalists was extremely motivational; not to mention the attendees from sponsor companies who have all achieved great success in their careers. It was a great networking opportunity and very inspiring, particularly as a woman hearing Fiona’s speech and watching a high number of females collecting the top prize! Hearing my name called out as the winner of my category was totally unexpected, particularly as I was the only non-engineer, so thought I would be completely ruled-out! Sharing the stage and receiving an award from Fiona was surreal and didn’t sink in for quite some time, in fact I still don’t think it has! The other candidates were fantastic and I would like to congratulate them all and wish them every success in their careers.

Now that the competition is over, planning for my journey to Australia to complete a 2-month placement with Laing O’Rourke is just beginning! I cannot wait to get out there will make sure I keep you posted along the way.

Thank you to TARGETJobs, Laing O’Rourke and everyone else involved in the process. My advice to those of you who may be reading this and are in a position to apply for the 2016 awards, would be to ‘go for it!’ There is absolutely nothing to lose and you may end up surprising yourself just like I did. Good luck!


Congratulations Jessica and to all the other finalists!

Pre-registration for the 2016 Awards is now open here! http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

Male Undergraduate of the Year – My application, the awards ceremony and the long journey home!

Name: Harrison Dent

University: University College London

Course: European Social and Political Studies

Harrison is the fist ever winner of the Male Undergraduate of the Year 2015 with L'Oreal!

It all started when I checked through my university emails with one particular email catching my eye – Male Undergraduate of the Year. The more I read, the more I became curious; curious at the prospect of me actually winning this outstanding award and gaining an internship with L’Oréal, including a week in Paris. Applying, for me, was a no-brainer; being in Brussels on my year abroad, I had just one summer left to gain some valuable work experience before graduating.

The hours I spent fine-tuning my application and completing assessments paid off and L’Oréal invited me to their assessment day. Throughout the day, I met some of L’Oréal’s staff from across the company and what struck me most was how wide a variety of people from such diverse backgrounds worked there. Not only that, but how from the very first day of this potential internship, I would be thrown in at the deep end, and given real and valuable work to be done; more than photocopying or making another cup of coffee – I would be an intrinsic part of the L’Oréal team. Not that I needed any motivation, but this factor certainly encouraged me to perform to the best of my ability throughout the day.

The very next morning, I received the all-important phone call. I had made it to the top 10! When the day of the awards ceremony finally arrived, excitement and anticipation filled the room. Listening to Fiona Bruce discuss her career and the various paths she had taken along the way was truly inspiring. I felt proud, fortunate and extremely grateful to be sat around a table filled with some amazing students as well as more staff from L’Oréal who couldn’t help but be excited for each and every one of us!

When the time came and the Managing Director of L’Oréal UK & Ireland, Michel Brousset, read out my name, I was astounded. Even when taking photos with Fiona Bruce or while she spoke about my achievements and skills that had lead me to win this award, I was still in disbelief. Only on the long, overnight bus back to Brussels did it truly sink in. I’m the Male Undergraduate of the Year and my journey starts here.

Congratulations again Harrison and to all the 2015 finalists!

Fancy giving it a go? Preregister your interest for 2016 here: http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

We meet the Management Undergraduate of the Year Award winner 2015!

Name: Nathan Craig
University: University of Nottingham
Course: Industrial Economics

Nathan is the 2015 Management Undergraduate of the Year with Enterprise-Rent-a-Car! Since getting over the shock of winning, we asked Nathan about his experience!

Hi all!

My name in Nathan Craig and I am fortunate to be the winner of the TARGETjobs Management Undergraduate of the Year Award 2015. 

I decided to apply to the process in late January as a result of receiving an email from my university careers service. Normally I would just skim over my emails, but the award caught my eye in this one and immediately stuck me as an excellent opportunity. I have a keen interest in the automobile industry and have always fancied myself as a sales person, therefore the fact that a placement with Enterprise Rent-A-Car was up for grabs, suited me to a tee. I was invited to take 3 tests, occupational personality, situational judgement and inductive reasoning, within the next few days once I’d submitted my application. 

After a week or so, I was contacted by a talent acquisition manager from Enterprise who invited me to participate in a telephone interview. I tend to get nervous over the phone, so I kept myself as busy as possible up until the last minutes before the interview. The interviewer really was a calming influence and I was able to find my stride quickly. This resulted in me being invited to an assessment centre a few days after the call.

The assessment centre was a great experience. I like to think of Enterprise Rent-A-Car as an iceberg company, there is a lot more that occurs out of sight than you can imagine! I was genuinely surprised by the friendliness of all the people I met at the assessment centre, other candidates as well as current Enterprise employees. I felt I was able to express my personality throughout the day, which was action packed and a great learning experience. Many of the assessors had once been in the same position when they first joined the company, a comforting fact also demonstrating the scope for career progression at Enterprise.

I received an email, within the next few days congratulating me on making the top 10 candidates and inviting me to the awards ceremony in Canary Wharf, definitely a high point as it was an impressive achievement to make it this far into the process. The final was an unforgettable experience and a welcome break from revision. At the ceremony, headlined by Fiona Bruce, I was able to network successful candidates from other assessment centres as well as more Enterprise employees. After a 3-course meal, the winners for each of the awards were called. I was nervous when Fiona Bruce was announcing the shortlist in my category, perhaps because I knew what a great achievement it would be to win this award. As the winner, I was presented my award by Jim Burrell, a remarkable man who has contributed vastly to the success of Enterprise in Europe.

 All in all, I have had a very positive experience, from applying in January to winning in April. I am looking forward to my placement with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, in particular, the week I will have in the USA. I would encourage everyone to apply to this award because it is a fantastic experience regardless of the outcome, and of course you have to be in it to win it! 

Congratulations again Nathan and to all the 2015 finalists!

Fancy giving it a go? Apply here: http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

We meet the Law Undergraduate of the Year Award winner 2015!

Name: Cara Goldthorpe
University: University College London
Course: LLB Law with French Law

Cara is the 2015 Law Undergraduate of the Year with Mayer Brown. Since the final we've caught up with her to find out why you should take part next!

When I saw the Undergraduate of the Year Awards advertised through my university careers newsletter, I signed up almost immediately; there was nothing to lose but so much to gain. However, before progressing very far, I encountered some difficulties in France where I am currently studying on exchange.  I put my application to one side for a couple of months, and only returned to it after I’d received several reminders from the team at TARGETJobs. Looking back, I’m so glad that they phoned me up and nudged me to push on with my application, as otherwise I doubt I’d be where I am today!

After all this, I was just so happy to make it to the top 35. Making the shortlist of 10 was an achievement I had never anticipated and I went to the assessment day with a positive frame of mind feeling proud of simply coming this far. I found the day very enjoyable; it was nice to meet the other shortlisted candidates and to put faces to the name of Mayer Brown, who were clearly investing a lot in the competition.  Numerous members of the firm gave up their time to be on the judging panel and networking drinks followed where we had the opportunity to mingle with the graduate recruitment team, trainees, associates and partners.

Being announced as winner on Friday last week was an even bigger surprise and I’m just glad that the work I put into my application paid off; as well as grateful for the opportunity TARGETJobs created by organising the awards and Mayer Brown for their sponsorship. I’m very excited to be joining the firm on their summer scheme later this year, as everyone who I’ve met from the firm so far has been lovely and I am keen to learn more about the work that they do.

I’d strongly encourage any penultimate year law student to apply for the competition. The application itself is not that time-consuming when you compare it to other applications for work and work experience, which have far more stressful assessment days! As for the competition, not only is there a great prize at stake, but if you’re shortlisted you’ll have the opportunity to meet other talented students from a range of disciplines at the award ceremony. It’s a great atmosphere and nice to see so many employers reaching out to students in this way.

Congratulations again Cara and to all the 2015 finalists!

Fancy giving it a go? Preregister your interest for 2016 here: http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

We meet the winner of the Mathematics, Economics and Finance Undergraduate of the Year Award 2015!

Name: Katy Barlow

University: University of St Andrews

Course: Mathematics and Economics

Since winning the Mathematics, Economics and Finance Undergraduate of the Year Award 2015 with Gazprom Marketing and Trading, we've caught up with Katy to find out why she applied for the award!

When I received an email from the University of St Andrews Maths department, with details on how to enter the TARGETJobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards, my immediate thought was how incredible it would be to win.

The application process for the Mathematics, Economics and Finance Award, sponsored by Gazprom Marketing and Trading, was a fairly straightforward online process. It included the completion of a numerical test, situational judgement and OPQ tests, as well as a submission of three essays. The online tests are not something you can really prepare for, and I simply tried to complete them as fast and as honestly as I could. The essays took a little longer, but I felt that I had experiences to draw on.

I sent in the application and was delighted to be contacted and told that I had been selected as one of 14 candidates who had been successful in this first selection process.

The second stage took part in London and involved an assessment day at GM&T’s headquarters in London. The assessment centre included group and individual tests, and an interview with HR managers. Walking into the Gazprom offices was slightly daunting, but once I had met some other candidates and members of the Gazprom team, I relaxed and settled into what proved to be quite a challenging day. Overall, I very much enjoyed the experience and it was a pleasure to meet so many talented people. 

It was not long after that I received an email congratulating me on being selected as one of the ten grand finalists inviting me to the awards ceremony at Canary Wharf. My feelings were a mixture of nerves and excitement as I arrived at the event and whilst we sat down and socialised at a very enjoyable three course lunch, I am sure that all the candidates were very aware that the winners were soon to be awarded. My category was the last of the twelve to be announced and I was thrilled when Chris Jones, Head of Global HR at GM&T announced my name as the winner. It was a moment I will never forget as I walked up to the stage to be presented with a beautiful glass trophy by Fiona Bruce.

I am now looking forward to a very exciting summer internship with Gazprom at their offices in London and in Singapore. It’s a fantastic opportunity to work with a finance team of one of the world’s largest energy companies.

Looking back, I am so pleased that I took the time to enter this competition and make the dream of winning come true. It has been a truly memorable experience and I am very proud to be the TARGETJobs Undergraduate of the Year for Maths, Economics and Finance 2015.

Congratulations again Katy and to all the 2015 finalists!

Fancy giving it a go? Apply here: http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

We meet the Female Undergraduate of the Year Award winner 2015!

Name: Aleksandra Pedraszewska

University: University of Cambridge

Course: Land Economy

Aleksandra won the 2015 Female Undergraduate of the Year Award 2015 with Rolls-Royce. She is studying the same course from the same university as last year's winner Courtney Gill! Fresh from winning her award, we caught up with Aleksandra to find out how she found the process and why she applied!

If my estimates are right, 12 months ago I was sitting in the library, trying to figure out the probability of failing my economics exam. More and less at the same time, the news about my one-year-older colleague, Courtney Gill, winning the Female Undergraduate of the Year Award, was updated on the department’s website. Just out of curiosity, to make my procrastination a little bit more useful, I signed up for the TARGETjobs mailing list to get a reminder when the application process opens. If anyone told me then that I will see myself in the picture in a year, I would probably start laughing. But here I am! Paradoxically, I have never met Courtney in person even though we study in the same department. But I would like to say a massive thank you for inspiring me to give it a go. And I want to encourage anyone with any doubts to do the same – just because you never know.

In the beginning of the second term I got a terrible cold, and did not cure it properly because of the amount of work and extracurricular activities I had taken up. I ended up in my bed with pneumonia, unable to do anything just because I wanted to do everything. It is probably another important lesson I learnt this year. However, having taken a step back, I slowly came back to life… and my mail box. When I got a final reminder about the Award’s applications, something told me that this is a thing worth putting some effort into. The online application went quite smoothly, as well as few tests that followed. I almost forgot about it, when after a couple of weeks I got a message that… I am going to Derby! I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect from the two-days assessment at Rolls-Royce. But meeting with senior representatives, fellow students from all around the UK, and having an unusual opportunity to visit the test beds seemed extremely exciting.

Even though I am not studying an engineering-related course, I am very much interested in new technologies and innovation. However, I would never expect myself finding engines so interesting! I learnt a lot over the weekend at Derby, but I also met wonderful people. I had an impression that after two days, for all 15 of us, who took part in the assessments, it seemed like we had known each other for ages. Such a friendly atmosphere was extremely helpful during the assessments we had to go through.

Of course, I did my best during each test, exercise or interview I had. However for some reason I assumed that small mistakes I thought I had made simply ruled me out from the group of possible winners. I was already over the moon when I received an invitation for the final ceremony in Canary Wharf, and I genuinely did not expect anything else. I was happy to see again the lucky 10 that I had met in Derby, as well as Rolls-Royce people and representatives of other 11 companies, sponsoring the awards. By the end of the dinner all finalists started to feel a little bit nervous and soon the first winners were announced. After the ceremony I got a couple of funny comments about my face expression when Eric Shulz read out my name from the stage. It probably pictures very well the state of shock that I was in. Today, after a couple of days from the final I still cannot believe it all, but most importantly I am extremely happy and honoured. It means a lot to me that there are so many kind responses to the news from everyone in Cambridge and my friends back in Poland. And of course I am very much looking forward to my summer internship at Rolls-Royce! I will try to post regularly about my preparations, travel, and, of course, my time at the company.

Congratulations again Aleksandra and to all the 2015 finalists!

Fancy giving it a go like Aleksandra? Preregister your interest for 2016 here: http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/register

We caught up with Sarah Leggett - an Undergraduate of the Year Award winner from 2013!

Sarah Leggett M.Eng Hons
Construction Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year winner 2013

A little about me

Travel experiences and a love of Art ignited my interest in Engineering and building design. Graduating as a Master of Engineering with Honours from The University of Sheffield, I have a driven desire to continue to achieve at the highest level. Aside from my university studies, as a Grade 8 singer (ABRSM) I enjoyed performing in the University's Singers' Society. Prior to university, I achieved my Gold and Silver Art Award, Trinity College London ‘09-’10 and taught at a French primary school Jun‘09.

Construction Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year 2013

After winning the Laing O’Rourke award I embraced the opportunity of an internship in Western Australia on Remote Infrastructure Projects and acted as an integral member of the Digital Engineering Team on the Wheatstone LNG Project: Civil Works ISBL and OSBL. Additionally I attained an insight into the complex logistical challenges associated with remote mining and resources infrastructure; Rio Tinto’s Cape Lambert Port B Project; a materials handling facility in Karratha; and BHP Billiton Iron Ore Railway Line at Port Headland.

Overall through my summer placement with Laing O’Rourke, I felt that I achieved a huge personnel development, that I grew in confidence in my own ability and that I contributed value to my employer. I made some great friends with whom I have remained in contact. As a result of working alongside such inspiring and talented individuals I was better equipped to embark on my final year individual project at University.  My summer placement at the Laing O’Rourke Perth Office reinforced my passion for engineering and project delivery. This event marks a milestone in my personal and professional development as it opened my eyes to a range of opportunities and sparked an interest to pursue a career in the construction side of engineering. I greatly appreciated the mentoring I received from Mike Idoine, Lead BIM Engineer, and Caroline Crook, Senior Project Engineer. I would like to thank Tim Kelly, Project Director and the Wheatstone Team for such a rewarding overseas work experience.

My role and what I do 

My current role involves working with the Laing O’Rourke Group Technical Services as a Graduate Engineer. With hard work and preparation, I aspire to embrace all opportunities which come my way. I am currently getting involved with improving the way in which knowledge is managed within the Group Technical Services Team, in order that the lessons learnt from each project can be shared within the business more effectively.  One of my roles on the Graduate Development Programme is to achieve personal development and chartership with the ICE, whilst offering support to my colleagues within the Graduate Development Programme 2014 Cohort.

Working with the team

When describing what working with the team at Laing O’Rourke means to me, it is the welcoming atmosphere in the workplace and on-site, together with the encouragement and support from colleagues, which is what initially comes to mind. The excitement of working within the Laing O’Rourke team means that you are part of a greater vehicle for change within the construction industry. It is the sense of belonging to your team, and that your contribution great or small is valued by those around you which makes working for Laing O’Rourke rewarding.

To exemplify this, I would like to think back to how I felt after my two month placement in Perth. In all, I felt an integral member of the Wheatstone Team. From visits to remote Laing O’Rourke sites in the Pilbara, I felt the sense of being part of a community despite being geographically isolated. The team spirit and drive to achieve collective goals which I experienced with Laing O’Rourke Australia, I noticed to be reflected in the UK business through visiting the Explore Manufacturing Facility with the IStructE and at various Laing O’Rourke Sites and Offices during assessment centres for the Graduate Programme.

It is the exciting opportunity to be part of a collaborative, ambitious team, where all aspects of the business are driven to improve the face of construction, which is the reason for which I wanted to be part of the Laing O’Rourke team after graduation.

A day in the life

Currently every day offers a new challenge. As the Group Technical Services work for all aspects of the business, with involvement during tenders, while a project is live at site or post construction, there are continually new challenges and opportunities to investigate more efficient and effective methods of work and best practice.

Sarah is the 4th Construction, Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year Award winner to join Laing O'Rourke. Following in the footsteps of Krzysztof Sieledczyk in 2010, Maria Canellas in 2011, and Oliver Brookes in 2013. You can read about Brittany Harris, the 2014 winner on her blog here.

Could you be the 2015 Construction, Engineering and Design Undergraduate of the Year Award winner?

The competition closes on the 4 Feb, click here to enter now!

Divya was a finalist at the 2014 Undergraduate of the Year Awards! She only applied for the practice and she now has an internship with EON!

I had just finished my winter exams and to be honest, all I could think about was relaxing with my friends and leaving my brain to rest for a couple of days. The deadline for the Undergraduate of the Year Awards was imminent and after debating with myself whether I should bother entering the competition, should I? Should I not? I took the plunge and started applying. At the end of the day, the worst thing that could happen was to be immediately rejected and even then it would be a good practice.

So I started the application, mentally exhausted from exams and not knowing what to expect. The thought of becoming Undergraduate of the Year sounded so unattainable and prestigious, I merely saw this as a practice run. The application process involved answering 3 questions about your thoughts on energy and a number of online tests. I have to say that the online test section was long but also quite entertaining, so don’t give up!

After submitting my application, I was informed I had passed the first stage of the process and would be attending an assessment centre at E.ON's Engineering Academy close to Nottingham soon after that. Both excitement and nervousness took over me, on one hand I was jumping up and down for reaching this far and to have the chance to have a “real-life” interview at one of the leading energy companies in the world, but also the thought of attending the assessment centre with all the other candidates was nerve wrecking. I kept reminding myself that this was an INCREDIBLE opportunity, a real life interview, so the more practise the better.

The assessment consisted of 3 tasks including a self-presentation, a role play and an evaluation task. I was nervous for my presentation but my interviewers made it as relaxed as possible.  The day was tough but I was really lucky to spend it with the other candidates which weren't as scary as I'd imagined. There was no competitive tension whatsoever but instead there were a lot of good vibes and lots of cooling tower selfies.

After that, everything was a win-win, I'd gained experience from a 7 hour assessment centre with some of the brightest students in the country and I would be receiving feedback from my interviewers. So even if I didn't continue to the final, that alone was already a great achievement.

My surprise exploded when I got the very much awaited telephone call informing me that I had made it to the final 10 candidates and received my invitation to a lunch event at Canary Wharf with Sir Trevor McDonald! The day was incredible, the location, the atmosphere, the food. It was a moment to remember in every way. I met some of the other E.ON managers and shared a great lunch with them (as well as many pictures!) After our three course meal, the winner was announced. Unfortunately I didn’t win the competition, but what was to come made up for any disappointment.

I left that day with a big smile on my face and a huge sense of accomplishment. All of this was happening because I took a couple of hours back in January to complete the application, it would have been so easy to ignore, but I didn’t and there I was in the middle of Canary Wharf with an amazing experience behind my back.

The most important thing I'll take with me from this event is to believe in myself, you are the only one standing on the way of your dreams so just take a couple minutes and apply, because this competition can give you a lot of great surprises.

Through this competition I am now going to start an internship with E.ON, in the performance team which is exactly what I wanted to do! This competition has brought me a step closer to my professional dreams in the energy industry, something I couldn't have even imagined when I shyly applied thinking I wouldn't even pass the first stage.

So if you are reading this, if not you, then who is going to be the next Engineering Undergraduate Of The Year?

Divya Hariramani, Engineering Undergraduate of the Year Award Finalist

Mechanical Engineering, University of Nottingham

As Divya says, what have you got to lose! Applications are open now for the Engineering Undergraduate of the Year!

We catch up with Courtney Gill on her amazing summer with Rolls-Royce!

When we last heard from Courtney, she'd just finished her first two weeks with Rolls-Royce (read more about that here). Since then she's travelled the world with the company, we caught up with her to find out more...

The summer with Rolls-Royce has truly been unbelievable. I just returned home from my business trip in Jakarta, Indonesia where I was able to see an entirely new culture. I attended a dinner with the British Ambassador at the new embassy celebrating a British-Indonesian aviation partnership, experienced Jakarta traffic at its peak, met some incredibly lovely Indonesians and enjoyed the various locals of the country.  I have one week left with Rolls-Royce when I return to London and am very much looking forward to getting back to the office.

Rolls-Royce CSR day at special needs school – what a wonderful place! 

Explaining all of the wonderful opportunities I have received this summer would take far too long, but what I can say is how impressed I am with the quality of the internship provided by Rolls-Royce. They went over and above to welcome me to the team and to offer learning opportunities at every turn. Whether it was hosting a group from Parliament at the Farnborough Air Show or spending the day with the Indonesian Ambassador to London, it is safe to say that I never had a boring week at work. Some of the summer highlights also included meeting the Rolls-Royce CEO, getting a private tour of Parliament, going to a business meeting in Brussels, giving a presentation in Warwick, going on team runs through St. James Park and meeting various individuals from the FCO.

Day in Derby with Indonesian Ambassador to London, Transport Attaché and Minister Counsellor 

This experience has opened up my mind to the vast world of opportunities that await when I finish Cambridge and I am incredibly excited to embark on my post-graduation journey. Rolls-Royce has begun my life adventure that encapsulates perfectly one of my favourite quotes from Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

So thank you to Rolls-Royce and to the Undergraduate of the Year Programme for everything!

At the British Embassy in Jakarta with acting Ambassador Rebecca Razavi

Fancy following in Courtney's footsteps? The Undergraduate of the Year Awards are open now! 

We speak to the winner of the 2014 Low Carbon Undergraduate of the Year Award on her experience since the final!

In January 2014 I had just got back from my semester abroad, studying at the National University of Singapore, and was looking forward to starting my third year design project. I was in the process of looking for a summer internship and noticed an e-mail from my university advertising the competition. I think everyone’s first reaction when seeing that only one person receives the award is that the chances of winning are slim. However the experience gained from applying is invaluable and anyone should give it a go as I definitely surprised myself by getting through each stage.

In order to apply I had to submit an application form with two short essays about how my studies contribute to a low carbon future.  Take your time to write these and think about how you could make yours stand out.

Here is a selfie of me and Torness nuclear power station
which I was very sad to leave as it has such a friendly atmosphere.

The next step was to complete a range of online tests. This included numerical reasoning, logical reasoning and workplace role play tests. These tests provide good training and practice as they are used by most companies in their application procedures.

I was thrilled a few weeks later when I got an e-mail inviting me to an assessment centre in a lovely hotel in Cheltenham Spa. The event ran throughout the whole day, so we were very busy going from one group exercise to another and completing in class tests.

There were three group exercises. The assessors were mainly looking for soft skills here.

·         The first was a problem based group task in which we had to demonstrate leadership and innovation in the way we approached the problem. There was a lot of time pressure so it was essential to remain composed and not be scared to propose alternative solutions. I would recommend you take your time to read through all the documents provided as it is easy to skim read and miss some crucial information.

·         The second task was to build a wind turbine. This gave us the opportunity to show leadership skills by delegating a job to each team member. Organisation and coordination was necessary in order assemble the wind turbine under a certain time.

·         The third group exercise took the form of a debate where there was no right or wrong answer. The assessors were looking for how we interact in a group discussion and how we come up with original ideas. It is important to listen and let others speak as well as getting your own ideas across.

We also completed two in class tests, one numerical reasoning test and one logical reasoning test. We were all quite drained at the end of the day so were thrilled to be able to use the hotel’s gym and pool facilities. We were treated to a networking dinner where we had the opportunity to meet current EDF Energy employees on the graduate scheme who shared their experience of working for the company.

A couple of weeks later, I couldn’t believe it when I was told that I had been selected as one of the ten finalists, I had made it through yet another hurdle. I was invited to the ceremony in Canary Wharf where we enjoyed a champagne reception and a delicious three course meal. We also had the chance to meet industry representatives who shared their career paths. The event was hosted by no other than the broadcasting legend Sir Trevor MacDonald who gave us an inspiring speech. The atmosphere suddenly changed as everyone was excited in anticipation of the announcement of the winners. I was over the moon when my name came up on the screen and Sir Trevor MacDonald called me to the stage. I walked over, shook his hand and received the award. I was very proud to have made it to the end and very excited at the prospect of starting my summer internship.

I spent seven weeks in EDF Energy’s Barnwood office working on various projects. I was delighted to see that some of the finalists also got a summer internship. I was given interesting tasks to complete and felt like I was making a real contribution to the teams I was working for. I even managed to take my projects further and do more than my initial target! My internship gave me an insight into the dynamics of a huge company, how different departments overlap emphasising on the importance of communication and collaboration between teams.

I also spent two weeks working on EDF Energy’s Torness nuclear power station in Scotland. It was amazing to see in real life what I had until then only studied on paper and to see the huge scale of the reactor and all its auxiliary apparatus. It was remarkable to see how all the plant areas were interconnected and highly dependent on each other. I went around plant with various powerful instruments, taking measurements and inspecting equipment. I had a much more hands on experience and even got to enter radioactive controlled areas after completing appropriate training. I was warmly welcome by every team I worked with which made my stay even more enjoyable. Working for EDF Energy over the summer was such an amazing experience , I am grateful to have been given this opportunity.

Here is a beautiful view from Torness Nuclear power station.

I am now looking forward to my other prizes which include a lunch with a station director and a visit to a nuclear power station in France.

My advice to all prospective candidates is to make the most of this opportunity. Even if you don’t win the competition, the whole application process and assessment centre provide excellent experience. It is incredibly useful to go through this recruitment process as it is similar to that of most companies. My whole experience has been exceptionally beneficial; I worked on a range of interesting projects, met inspiring people and expanded my knowledge of the nuclear industry.  I had a wonderful time and look forward to applying to EDF Energy’s graduate scheme.

Celine Dischamps, University of Manchester

Low Carbon Energy Undergraduate of the Year Award 2014

Think this could be you for 2015? Apply now at: undergraduateoftheyear.com/lowcarbon