I finished my BE in Chemical Engineering from BITS Pilani University in India and later worked for about five years in industrial R&D centers within India. With my undergraduate degree as a base, I forayed into industry, working for companies with established R&D setups. Having aligned basically with the research route, I wanted to further my conceptual knowledge that may usher me into more advanced research areas. So, I arrived in the UK in pursuit of this and joined UCL. I was sure it was the place for fulfilling my aspirations by pursuing research linked to higher academics and gain dividends. The admission into UCL, which is ranked high in the world, is the gateway for quality academics and resourceful research, and I am lucky to be part of it.
To me, the MSc in Chemical Process Engineering at UCL is a blend of excellent modules and challenging research/design projects. Students can choose their curriculum from a spectrum of courses and projects. These primarily address some of the challenging demands of the present day, in the energy, industrial, environmental etc. domains. I ensured that my curriculum included some exciting courses like Nature Inspired Chemical Engineering, Energy Systems & Sustainability, Electrochemical Engineering and Safety & Loss Prevention, which were pivotal to my research project. I also had the flexibility to choose a course from the Management department to gain pertinent knowledge on project execution and business administration.
My research project was to develop the world’s first curved planar fuel cell module. The project was under the supervision of Prof Dan Brett at the Electrochemical Innovation Lab (EIL) at the department of Chemical Engineering (EIL is one of the major centers for fuel cell and battery research). I consider this stint of mine at EIL the best part of my MSc. Apart from the exciting topic of research, the continuous guidance, regular progress reviews and feedback by supervisor, the faculty & PhD scholars were some of the add-on features that were instrumental for my successful completion of the project.
I firmly believe that UCL is one of the best places for prospective graduates who can equip themselves with advanced subject knowledge with ease and move up to higher avenues in research and stay afloat in industry.