Who or what made you choose to study this?
My decision to study Engineering but more specifically Civil Structural Engineering came naturally. During high school I enjoyed design, as our school did not offer the engineering as a subject. Aswell as design I enjoyed physics and math subjects but more fundamentally how the content of these subjects can be applied to a real-world application.
My reasoning to study engineering was to see my knowledge in physics and math be applied to real life scenarios. When it came down to choosing a specialisation, I had not completed high school chemistry nor done the university course equivalent, thus leading me to choose Civil Engineering. This being said I really enjoyed the first-year civil subject.
How did you find out about UQ?
As I am a local to Brisbane, more specifically inner-western suburb of Brisbane, UQ’s reputation and presence was evident throughout my entire life. From primary school birthday party’s at the UQ pool, school athletic carnivals at the track or rides along the river, I had always considered my eventual application to UQ.
Did you attend any events at UQ in the lead up to choosing to come here? If so please tell us what.
Yes, as I have an older sister 1 year above me I was fortunate enough to attend UQ open day twice. The first time we were shown around the campus and the scale of the University and its people come to light. The second time round I was determined to discover what the engineering faculty or UQ had to offer and the building as I was nervous of how I was going to deal with the change from high school.
Throughout the day the engineering staff and some of its students helped to explain and resolve any of my worries meaning by the time I left I was reassured and exited for when I would next step back onto campus.
What kinds of things did you want to know when you were choosing what university to go to?
A major thing that I wanted to know was how my average day-to-day would look like when considering different universities. Other things that I wanted to know when choosing what university to go to was how that university was received in the workforce and if my chosen degree would be worth more at another university.
Why did you choose to study at UQ?
I chose to study at UQ because it felt like the right place where I would be able to balance academic opportunities with personal growth. When looking into different universities on the east-coast of Australia UQ stood out because of its strong reputation and quality of its programs inside of Engineering. I was also looking for a university that would challenge me academically.
Another reason I chose to study at UQ was the campus and its atmosphere. After attending the open days and being around the campus I could imagine myself being part of the community. I liked how UQ endorses and encourages students to become involved in non-academic activities such as social sport.
What are your favourite facilities and resources available to you at UQ?
At UQ my favourite facilities and resources available to me would be the Hydraulics lab located in the Advanced engineering building. The lab includes multiple apparatuses all with large scale pumps and gates. Currently I use this lab for Fluid Mechanics where we measure values such as drag coefficients and velocity profiles of free flows.
Have you been able to have practical experiences within your degree (e.g. work experience, industry projects etc.)? If so, please provide some highlights.
I have been able to have practical experience within my undergraduate degree. During the summer at the end of my first year, I interned for 5 weeks at Leighton Asia’s N103 North South Transportation Corridor Project Singapore.
The project (ongoing) aims to deliver a section of the North-south corridor, including multiple entry and exit ramps, and a facility building for the Land Transport Authority (LTA). While undergoing the program I was assigned to multiple engineers from all the different departments of the project team, including both the office and site teams.
These included:
- Design department engineers
- Site engineers
- Site managers and Superintendents
- Safety team, Project management team, Public relations team, Human resources team, Finance team, Quantity surveying team.
A key experience from this internship was being able to be in the meetings between the client and the management team (or the site engineers). These meetings demonstrated the iterative construction process and outlined valuable information of how challenges in the construction space were overcome.
While much of the time was spent on site and in the office with the site engineers, having seen the entire operation and execution of the project taught me valuable lessons in communications and logistics as well as the place that engineers fit into the project delivery process.
What’s been your favourite course so far and why?
So far my favourite course must be CIVL3360 Reinforced Concrete Design. As this was the first structural design course I had done, I was nervous of what it involved. Throughout the course we learnt all about the material, creation and construction of reinforced concrete members but also touched on design principles and went into detail into how a structural engineer uses the design standard in their day-to-day.
A highlight of this course is constructing a reinforced concrete beam and then testing it till failure. In this experience I was able to visualise all of the theory we had covered in class.
Highlights of your past year at UQ
In the past year I have enjoyed all UQ has had to offer. A highlight of the past year would is the time my friend, playing for the UQ division 2 AFL team scored the winning goal in the last quarter of their game against the opposition team. This moment encapsulates the diverse student life that UQ facilitates for.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering studying at UQ, what would that be?
If I could give one piece of advice to someone considering studying engineering at UQ it would be that you will not be let down by the facilities and teaching.
Have you participated in any internships / work? If so tell us a bit about it, what did you enjoy most about the experience?
As the internship, mentioned above, was overseas I really enjoyed witnessing overseas constriction and engineering practises but also meeting and getting to know fellow engineers from Singapore.
What do you hope to do when you graduate?
When I graduate, I hope to work locally for an engineering consultancy or as a site engineer.
Are you a member of any student societies / participate in extracurricular activities? Tell us a bit about it.
I am currently a member of CESA the Civil Engineering Student Association. The society is responsible for many social event, industry connection nights and dance balls. The society is a good way to socialise, network but most importantly find and get to know like minded people in your same academic discipline.
