Mechanical Engineering student Matthew Hutson tells us about his experience

BEng Mechanical Engineering

Why did you choose to study at UCLan?

Seeing the facilities and opportunities that UCLan’s engineering department offered stuck out to me that they cared about not just making sure their graduates were academically prepared like any university will but also had a range of other skills such as hands on or management knowledge which are just as important for industry.

The university itself had a great community feel while not feeling isolated or cut off as its so close to the city.

What was it that attracted you to the course specifically?

After coming to multiple open days and looking into a few of the different courses offered at UCLan I chose Mechanical Engineering as I decided it would give me a broad base of knowledge to allow me to go into a range of different areas in the future.

What are the facilities like?

The facilities here are brilliant and enable us to do such a wide range of things to suit the area of engineering that most interests us. Then there’s the brand new EIC which I’m very excited about as that will provide us with even more facilities and dedicated areas.

What is the teaching like?

The teaching’s great as all the staff have experienced backgrounds in industry and they’re very supportive at any point as long as you’re willing to put the work in yourself as well.

Have you been involved in any projects?

Joining the Engineering society gave me a great chance to get involved with Projects. I joined the Shell Eco marathon team and for the past 2 years have built a fuel-efficient car for a European competition each year. This allowed me to work with a group of students from multiple different years and disciplines while trying out new things such as making carbon fibre parts.

Have you had to overcome any obstacles during your time at UCLan?

The biggest obstacle is time management, at the end of my 2nd year just after exams I’ve ended up working every day on the eco car to get it working ready for the first part of the competition and of course, like with any project, there were unexpected problems which meant we had to very quickly work out new ways to manufacture parts or redesign sections.

Matthew Hutson (right)
Matthew Hutson (right)
Matthew Hutson with a group of Engineering students
Matthew Hutson with a group of Engineering students

One memory that sticks out from your time at UCLan so far?

So far it would have to be the week I got to spend down at the Olympic park in London last summer at the Shell Eco Marathon event representing UCLan. A whole week spent with friends showing off what we’d developed throughout the year and competing against likeminded engineering teams from all over Europe.

Any tips to prospective students?

Get involved! Get a degree along with a load of experiences to talk about in future job interviews while having had fun. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of hard work needed but I don’t think anyone ever said an engineering degree is easy right?