The East London Scholarship: Raseda's story

How did the East London Scholarship help you?   

The scholarship firstly allowed me to study without having to worry about working a part time job, meaning I could focus solely on my studies, applying for graduate jobs and figuring out where I wanted to go with my career.  

It also meant I had more time for extracurricular activities, for my studies and my personal wellbeing. For example, I had the opportunity to get involved in the Sustainability Festival at the London Stadium, which I found very insightful and great for networking, further supporting my next steps after graduation.  

Through the scholarship, I was also able to have a mentor, which was very useful as I was new to UCL, so I had someone to go to for any questions as well as someone outside my field with whom I could have interesting conversations about each other's work.  

Overall, the scholarship allowed me to study my Master's with minimal stress while providing me with extra opportunities to widen my network.  

Tell us about your degree here and what about this field of study excites you.  

My degree was the Nature Inspired Solutions MSc. This field excites me because it’s at the forefront of innovation, supporting using out-of-the-box solutions for traditional engineering problems, focusing on sustainability which is a big passion of mine.  

I found this course very stimulating. As I had a chemical engineering background but have always wanted to work in sustainability, this degree allowed me to get hands-on experience within my field. I learnt very useful research skills such as data visualisation from large sets of results, life cycle assessment modelling, and coding using various software platforms like Origin and MATLAB.  

What are you doing now (work/study/hobbies etc)?   

I am currently working as an Environmental Engineer on a graduate scheme at Thames Water. I am working towards becoming a Chartered Environmentalist, developing my skills in understanding sustainability trends, and showing full competence in completing and reviewing environmental deliverables for long term engineering projects.  

Outside of work, I am a yogi (which I got to do lots of through the UCL Yoga Society) and I’ve also started getting into mat pilates. I’m also a big traveller and aiming to achieve 30 countries before 30, I just came back from Hungary! 

What are your dreams career wise?   

Through my studies I have always enjoyed innovative research and computational modelling. I would like to grow my expertise in environmental engineering and become a specialist in a specific area like waste management.  

I am also aiming to do a PhD when the right project comes and apply that to industry. I would like to embed my love for research into my work in industry, and later in life I think it would be nice to work in academia.  

Did you have a standout lecturer or subject while at UCL? Someone that really inspired you?   

I am very grateful for my personal tutor Solomon Bawa who was very encouraging within my studies but also supportive with my job applications and interview prep. Even after leaving UCL he has given me opportunities to help with events such as the IChemE lab tour, allowing me to expand my network.  

Solomon also taught two modules which prepared us for the thesis research project, teaching us various skills in writing, data analysis, and presentation skills. Throughout my undergraduate degree I always found coding difficult and thought I would never pick it up, but his teaching made it so much easier and enjoyable and I was able to successfully get my head around it. His support and expertise were exceptional.  

What do you love about the UCL East campus?  

The main highlight of the campus for me is the amazing lab facilities; there is a lab for anything you can think of! The facilities are amazing, meaning students are not limited in exploring their ideas and passions. I have been able to see how different labs support PhD students and individual's projects, so it is a good place to study.  

The campus is also in a great location and very spacious, so there is always a quiet place to study and somewhere fun to go afterwards.  

How do you think the scholarship could help future UCL students?  

The scholarship specifically supports students who live in east London boroughs, meaning students can be supported financially, academically, and have a campus close to home. The scholarship also supports many courses which are more niche or have only opened recently, allowing more students to participate in upcoming areas of research. 

If Raseda's story has inspired you to continue your studies, you can find out more about the UCL East London Scholarship.