Abby Dow graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial with a MEng in 2020. If you follow sports you may recognise her already: she’s a successful, high profile athlete, having won the 2025 Rugby World Cup with the England women’s team.
Why did you choose to study Mechanical Engineering at Imperial?
I was fortunate enough, at the ripe age of 17, to choose Engineering for the simple reasoning that I rather enjoyed Maths, Physics and helping my dad with DIY. Little did I know that I had picked a degree that I loved, in most of its aspects (maybe not the Navier Stokes equations).
How did you manage to balance your Engineering studies and your sports career?
Time management was a massive aspect. I received my first international cap in the autumn term of my second year at Imperial and proceeded to get capped through the third and fourth year. The infamous time commitment required for Mechanical Engineering resulted in serious time management and optimisation - studying in downtime of camp or travel time. The contrast between sport and study actually allowed a fresh perspective on both, allowing my brain and body to rest while the other was stimulated.
What is your fondest memory of your time in the Department of Mechanical Engineering?
I have many fond moments of my time at University, particularly the various people I met on the course - so many likeminded people from completely different walks of life.
Who did you find most inspiring at Imperial (and why)?
Fred Marquis was an incredible mentor during my time at Imperial. He liaised often to ensure I was adequately supported and was an incredible lecturer as well. When you are taught so well, studying becomes a breeze.
What’s the most useful thing you learned during your time at Imperial, in class or out?
I think it was the closest to my limit that I could get. I am an extremely competitive person, and testing my capabilities both in sport and academics really pushed me.
Do you have any advice for current students?
Make sure to enjoy your time at Imperial. We are a body of students that are seeking high achievement and we can often neglect the more important learning points in life. One of which is, it’s okay to make mistakes or take things a little bit slower.
What are your plans for the future?
After focusing on being an elite athlete only for the last five years, I really have missed engineering and mentally pushing myself, so I am looking forward to making new links with the industry and getting back into engineering as well.