Awards
Nandini is thrilled about her scholarship. It means so much to her as she is now able to dedicate all her energy to her studies and the development of her skills whilst being supported through her exciting journey by the Institution.
“IMechE is an amazing organisation; they have such a massive member base and access to all the resources. Being affiliated with them is quite a big honour, and so I was really pleased to win the scholarship. It’s really helped me discover what mechanical engineering is all about.”
Nandini’s interest in engineering blossomed through both her love of maths and her volunteer work. She describes herself as ‘always being mathsy’ and has found that Cambridge University’s broad focus on engineering has provided her with an opportunity to use her maths skills to address real world problems.
“It ties into the person that I am,” she explains, “I do a lot of charity work and I enjoy helping people, and in that way, I can use what skills I have to make people’s lives better.”
Nandini describes the scholarship application process as a highly enjoyable experience, which gave her the opportunity to explore her own interests as well as the chance for further personal development. She was able to write an essay about hydrogen technology, a topic that she is excited about, which then prompted her to start her own online blog, writing about graphene and hydrogen technologies.
“The IMechE Scholarship has really helped me discover something that I didn’t know was there before, and now I’m quite passionate about,” she says.
The Scholarship Award recognises both academic and technical ability. With the support of IMechE, Nandini is looking forward to a career in engineering where she can make a positive, lasting difference to society.
“It’s quite exciting because there’s so much research and potential in energy technologies and sustainability. I am quite passionate about nano materials, like graphene and h-BN, and that combines nicely with energy technologies. There are the filtration technologies, you want to make everything sustainable, zero carbon transport – I see many things that I could possibly do in the future.”
If you find yourself thinking of applying for an IMechE Scholarship Award, but feel a little daunted about the process ahead, Nandini’s advice is to just go for it.
“The application process isn’t just about winning; you get to learn more about yourself. You have done amazing things. You’ve come this far, and you’re about to maybe head off to university, or an apprenticeship, and you’ve been successful to be where you are right now. Doing applications like these, you get to see how everything you have done over the past few years fits together, and how that could lead to a future career. It’s so worth it because you learn so much from it, and it’s a really rewarding process. These experiences, combined with the guidance from IMechE experts, will provide you with the insights into mechanical engineering and steer your learning curve towards a professional career”.