Joseph Souter – MEng in Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Joseph Souter from Kingston completed the MENG Electronic and Electrical Engineering course and is now working for specialist marine engineering firm Imenco UK Ltd, who have a base in Aberdeen.

He decided to pursue higher education and being encouraged by his teacher at Milnes High School in Fochabers and his engineering lecturer at further education college.

Joseph attended an open day at RGU and decided MENG Electronic and Electrical Engineering programme was for him after completing his college course. 

He said his placement with Imenco, his current employer, was a highlight and gave him an insight to what it is like to work as an engineer.

Joseph said: “One of the highlights of the course was the combined placement and MEng project experience. I was given a project topic from my placement employer during my first placement to take forward as my MEng project, I then took the results back to the company during my second placement and developed it further.

“This was an excellent opportunity to learn what it’s like to be part of research & development in industry, and it prepared me well for my job both in terms of technical skills, but also in soft skills like time & budget management, communication, and diplomacy.

“I am working as a Graduate Systems Engineer with Imenco UK where I’m involved in hardware and software design in the context of underwater acoustics. I plan to become a chartered engineer and hope to start the chartership process soon.

“RGU has prepared me well for my work in industry. The placement opportunity was a great way to learn about what the job requires, while still at university, and was very valuable in giving me a level of industrial experience at an early stage in my career.”

Joseph said another highlight of his time at RGU was working as a volunteer on the Bike Pad scheme, which allows students to rent a bike. 

He started off as a mechanic before taking over as head volunteer in his final year and said he is “very proud” of what he achieved.

Joseph said: “This was a great experience, as it encouraged students to cycle through providing affordable bikes and equipment and aimed to reduce waste by recycling old bikes and giving them a new lease of life.

“It was very rewarding to be part of an organisation making a practical difference to the community around them. I’m very proud of the work which I did and delighted that Bike Pad is becoming even more successful this year with a new team of volunteers."