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We’ve shown that there is considerable interest among students about PEMD, which is very encouraging. We now need to provide more opportunities for high-achieving undergraduates to gain work experience in the UK’s PEMD sector.
Stewart Edmondson, CEO, UKESF
The Driving the Electric Revolution (DER) Undergraduate Award 2022 recognised four outstanding undergraduate Electrical and Electronics Engineering students who have an interest in Power Electronics, Machines and Drives (PEMD).
Emily Dale, University of Manchester; Elaine Tian Galloway, University of Sheffield; Marcus Perrin, University of Sheffield; and James Taylor, Imperial College London were selected from over 50 applications for the Award.
The Award is a collaboration between UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the UKESF, as part of the wider DER Challenge skills initiative, to raise awareness of PEMD among undergraduates and encourage them to pursue careers in the sector.
Marcus Perrin, James Taylor and Emily Dale, DER Award winners, with Connel Williams, ZF Automotive and Stewart Edmondson, UKESF
The UKESF was delighted with the overwhelming response to the Award, with applications received from undergraduates studying at 16 UKESF partner universities nationwide.
Speaking about the Award, Stewart Edmondson, CEO, UKESF, said: “PEMD is so important for the future and we were really pleased to work with the DER Challenge team on this Award. We’ve shown that there is considerable interest among students about PEMD, which is very encouraging. We now need to build on this interest and provide more opportunities for high-achieving undergraduates to gain work experience in the UK’s PEMD sector.”
The four Award-winning undergraduates undertook work experience at one of two supporting companies, Collins Aerospace and ZF Automotive.
Philip Langley, Strategic and Business Development at ZF Automotive, said: “The entire process with UKESF was well supported and effective, we were given very high calibre applicants, narrowing these down to the three we took on the DER Award Scheme. The energy and intelligence they brought was outstanding, our challenge is to keep them in Engineering and more specifically PEMD.”
Emily Dale shared feedback on her experience: “I undertook a 10-week placement at ZF in Shirley Solihull. My project was heavily focused on modelling in MATLAB and Simulink, a major opportunity to develop new technical skills and work with tools I had never used before. I found the aspects of automotive engineering that I encountered at ZF provided complex challenges and worthwhile results. I am very grateful for all the support I have received from UKESF and it has built on my career aspirations massively.”
The Driving the Electric Revolution Undergraduate Award was successful in generating awareness and interest in PEMD among a diverse range of engineering students. It provided participants with valuable work experience at the start of their university studies and helped support their professional skills development. Read the full report here.
