Isabela

Choosing Imperial

When I was younger, a newspaper in Brazil printed a large story about the best universities in the world. It included a small list with the top ten that I cut out and stuck to my computer. Throughout the rest of my time in school, that little piece of paper motivated me to work hard to get into one of those universities. At the time, in 8^th place, was Imperial College London.

I chose Imperial for many reasons. I felt that Imperial allowed me to – from the first year – focus on my area of study (engineering) and achieve a greater depth of knowledge quicker than I might find elsewhere.

Besides academics and ranking, London’s proximity to Europe was very attractive. I speak a few European languages and have always enjoyed traveling. Additionally, Imperial has (or at least had when I applied) the largest number of societies in the UK and placing such high value on extracurriculars reflected my personal priorities. Living in London was also a huge thing: I love theatre, musicals, and the rich cultural aspect of the city.

A final point on location is that London is a hub for opportunities, like internships and startups, and proximity to those mattered to me.

Beginning my Imperial journey

Coming from Brazil, I worried that that I wouldn’t adapt well due to the culture and I would not find the warmth I was used to in Brazil. If only I could go back to tell myself not to worry!

At Imperial, I have always felt like my different background was viewed positively. I think a lot of effort is made to be inclusive and understanding of any cultural differences by students and staff.

The vast majority of staff and academics I have had the pleasure of working with as a student, or as a student representative, have deeply cared about the students’ experience and wellbeing. They were open for feedback (which I did not initially expect), and were eager to listen to what I had to say. I looked forward to conversations with staff and can say that the cold staff-student distance is not what I found; instead, I worked with friendly, respectful, and kind people, who saw me as a person (not just another student).

From week one to graduation

Surrounding myself with inspirational people

I have had the privilege of being surrounded by inspiring students and staff, who pushed me to be better.

From very early on in my journey at Imperial, I noticed how excellent everyone was: not only were my peers excellent at engineering, science, mathematics, but they were also excellent at sport, music, and art. If you don’t believe me, I strongly recommend you watch the Imperial Orchestra, the acappella groups or a production of the Musical Theatre Society.

Additionally, the way people cared for each other inspired me to get more involved in student representation and left me consistently feeling supported. I knew, if I needed help, someone would always be willing and able to. For instance, in first year, all I had to do was look confused in the mechanical engineering study room and someone would approach me offering to explain the problem I was struggling with.

In my first and second year, students also organised (independently from the department) a weekend four-hour crash course to help each other revise.

This level of comradery transformed my experience, and I could not be more grateful to have ended up at a department with such an amazing culture.

My passion for Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering allows you to explore everything from thermofluids to solid mechanics, nuclear, mechatronics, and control. Keeping doors open was an important aspect for me and the course allowed me to understand my passions and strengths in the first two years, before committing to a specialty in third and fourth year.

Personally, I see the project work as the best part of my course. For instance, in third year, a large group project called design, make and test (DMT)is part of the curriculum. My group was in charge of designing, making and testing the body panels for the formula student team. Besides being an empowering experience to have made something useful that worked as engineers, I left the project with lifelong friends (and many lessons on project management!).

Earlier this year, I completed my (Master's) Final Year Project, titled "The Future of Plastic Production: Investigating Emissions of Bio-based and Oil-based Plastics". I looked at the path towards sustainable plastic production, and whether it involves successfully transitioning to renewable energy sources and/or changing the production to bio-based plastics through Life Cycle Assessment (more on it). This was a fascinating project with the support, insightful conversations and the experience of my supervisor (Prof. Peter Lindstedt) at Imperial. NORSUS (my industrial partner) was also crucial to its success. What a privilege to work with such brilliant people!

Persevering through challenging circumstances

An obvious challenge my cohort had to overcome was COVID. The pandemic hit my cohort during second term of our first year and lasted until our third year, which makes my cohort objectively the most impacted by COVID. I remember being very angry, in April 2020, that so much of my university experience was “taken away” and it made it hard to focus on my actual degree.

In the end, there were a few positive aspects that came out of the pandemic. For instance, we had to be very intentional about human interaction and friendships which made us value our relationships so much more. I was also inspired by how everyone rallied around each other (including very senior members of staff). I was a student representative throughout my entire journey at Imperial and it made me feel very connected to my community to experience first-hand how much staff truly wanted to listen to us, understand what we were feeling, and define what they could do to improve the students’ experience.

Another massive challenge of my experience at Imperial was working at a startup called Vioo Inc. I found it hard to balance being a part of an entrepreneurial venture and fulfilling my degree and my student representative responsibilities to the best of my ability.

I started at the startup during 2020 COVID, because, since everything was online and I did not have to commute, I figured I had a couple of hours extra a day. Initially, my commitments were manageable: I would answer Slack in between online lectures and make time for quick meetings whenever my schedule had a gap. When we went back to in-person classes, I struggled with late nights, stress, and many colds and (non-covid) coughs for a while, before I took a break from the startup (late 2021/early 2022) to be able to fully take advantage of the amazing opportunities I was having at Imperial.

Taking advantage of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP)

I did a UROP while working for Vioo in the summer of my second year. I got into the programme by talking to my personal tutor, Dr Salvador Martinez, who suggested I take on one of his projects on emissions and their human toxicity. It was fascinating to do work that had real impact in the world, as well as learning new content and software. He was nothing but supportive and patient throughout the entire summer, I left feeling like I learned something new and had explored (even if only for a couple of months) the world of academia. The project also raised questions in my mind that inspired my third-year literature review project on Life Cycle Assessment and its weighting and normalization methods, as means of understanding of the potential harmfulness of emissions. This review also ultimately led to my master’s thesis, on life cycle assessment of plastic production.

So, the obvious conclusion follows: I would strongly recommend taking advantage of a UROP!

Life outside lectures

Courses at Imperial can get very demanding and quickly dominate your life. It is important to have an outlet to get your mind off academics, as well as to expand your horizons, and meet people outside of your area of study. It will make you a well-rounded person and help you to cope when everything doesn’t go as planned in your course.

I was a part of the musical theatre society since my first week at Imperial. To be completely honest, while I was choosing which university I wanted to go to, I had already found my way to their YouTube videos.

Since then, I have been a part of six productions by the society (not more due to covid) and the community made me feel at home from day one. I think it is crucial to find a community of people passionate about similar things: besides being able to count on those people for support, I also learned a lot about musicals and theatre I would have never known otherwise. I also got to fulfill a massive childhood dream of mine: I played a lead in the 2023 spring show! In our production of Addams Family, I was Uncle Fester, which was a massive challenge in terms of acting and vocals.

I received super useful musical and acting coaching, and I learned a lot about what I can do (artistically) in the months of rehearsals and performances.

On another note, in my first year, I was my year’s academic representative. I ended up doing a lot of work, especially because of the pandemic hitting us so suddenly. At the end of the academic year, I remember being moved to tears when I was awarded the City & Guilds College Union (CGCU) Half Colours Award for “significant & repeated outstanding contributions to the life of CGCU and student experience”.

Getting involved with the Imperial community

Having friends and colleagues recognise my work in this way was (and still is) one of the most rewarding feelings and it was fuelled by continuous commitment to my department. Every following year, I was voted the departmental academic representative, which was an honour in of itself and allowed me to work with amazing students and inspiring staff tackling challenges such as: in the pandemic, implementing the no-detriment policy and open book examinations; and post-pandemic, increasing transparency and student-staff cooperation, optimising teaching, reviewing examinations processes and assessment methods, and fostering the best part of mechanical engineering: our collaborative culture.

At the end of my fourth year, I was awarded, by the Mechanical Engineering department, the Head of Department Award for the Final Year Student who has Contributed Most to the Student Experience in all Four Years, for “outstanding and maintained contribution to the student experience over all years of the degree”. This meant the world to me and I am beyond honoured about it.

There are many ways to get involved with the Imperial community. I would personally recommend investing your time to run and be the best student representative you can. However, there are also other positions, for instance, in any of the Unions: City and Guilds, Royal School of Mines, or even in the Imperial College Union. Most important is to get involved and take charge of your experience!

Plans for the future

For the foreseeable, I am going into strategy consulting. I am eager to use my engineering background to contribute to finding the best solution in terms of innovation, sustainability, and processes for clients. Even though I was not sure what I wanted to do when I started my studies, Imperial helped me understand my strengths and guided my career decision.

Advice for anyone thinking about applying

Come ready to work hard (but make sure you make time to enjoy it!). Get involved in the community: it is definitely the best part of it all!