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Volunteer engineer

Mike originally chose his degree at Durham University to keep his options open. “If you have an engineering degree you can do all kinds of things,” he says, but he decided to focus on civil engineering and hasn’t looked back.

Initially the funding attracted him to the ELS programme. Mike knew he wanted to work on major projects abroad, so having spent his third year at university studying in Berlin he took a long summer in Peru where he volunteered with a charity and designed clean water and sanitation systems for rural locations. “I was aware getting this a scholarship would help in getting funding to work overseas and it helped both with a language course in Germany and then my initial costs for travel and set up in Peru,” he says.

The ELS funding also covered the cost of volunteering in Sri Lanka, where Mike assumed responsibility for the construction of 110 houses, in response to the devastating tsunami in 2004.

If you have an engineering degree you can do all kinds of things.

Advice

“Think of it as an opportunity to explore what you might want to do and the various opportunities in front of you – don’t just explore a path that somebody else has taken.”

Building a career

After returning to the UK, Mike started at Atkins Réalis (formerly Atkins) and has worked there ever since. In his 20-year career, he has worked on major projects across sectors including highways, bridges, water, buildings, oil and gas, nuclear fusion and aviation, as well as taking wider roles including operational, risk and commercial leadership, honing his strategic and business skills along the way.

How the ELS helped

Preparation for work: “I think the award definitely opened my eyes and provided awareness and recognition of the different factors that make up engineering success.”

Network: “I’m still in touch with people from my cohort and we catch up when we can. There’s definitely a network that gives you a point of contact, particularly early on in your career. You can ask someone for help and learn from others’ experiences.”

Real world experience: “The ELS provided the opportunity to develop skills and gain experience that I would not have been able to otherwise achieve. It gave me broad real world engineering experience and helped me consider what I enjoyed and what I wanted in my career. The chance to meet with people through conferences, work placements and mentoring whilst learning how to engage and work effectively with others was just as valuable as the overseas experience.”

Changing the future of energy

His highlights include working on the striking Supreme Education Council Headquarters in Qatar, the Swansea University Bay campus in Wales and the ITER fusion project. “I was the delivery manager for ITER, which is a huge experimental fusion reactor in the South of France. It is one of the most exciting and complex projects on the planet and has the potential to change the future of energy supply” he says.

Interested in participating in the Engineering Leaders Scholarship?

Visit the programme pages to find out more about how it could benefit you and your career.

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