William Barman

Why did you choose Cranfield?

Before starting at Cranfield I was working full time. I did an Apprenticeship with Airbus, gaining a Foundation Degree as part of the Apprenticeship, then went on to do a degree part time with funding through my Airbus department alongside working as a Manufacturing Engineer on A330. I left Airbus in March 2015 to gain experience with other companies and have since worked as a contractor for Jaguar Landrover, Assystem and Accenture (whom I currently work for).

Being a contractor, the competitive nature of the industry ensures that you need to stand out from the crowd, as roles may only last six months and you often have to switch roles, jobs and industries. Therefore having a Masters Degree will help prospective employers notice my CV. I also want to become a Chartered Engineer and feel that a Masters will help me develop toward that goal.

I have experience within the Aerospace industry from my time served within Airbus and I enjoy the roles I have performed within the industry, my background is Manufacturing Engineering so this seemed like a logical choice. I also have a Degree in Aeronautical Engineering, so it feels like a natural progression. Part time was a logical choice as I have liabilities such as a mortgage to pay so full time was never an option. I don’t think you really need to do the course full time though. Obviously the social aspect would be better full time, but part time fitted better with my current employment.

Cranfield in my opinion is the best university in the whole of the UK for Aeronautical Engineering and so there was no other choice in my mind. I went to an OK University for my degree (which was specified by Airbus) but with no constraint for the Masters, I wanted to be in the best University possible.

I found the Composites course very interesting. The composites course is run in two different formats, one Aerospace orientated and one Automotive orientated. Due to work constraints I had to attend the Automotive orientated one. This was great, as I have a real passion for cars and I found the lectures given by the Lotus and Bentley representatives very engaging.

I would recommend any number of colleagues that I have worked with during my time in Airbus that wanted to further their learning. The course is broken down into week modules so the work content is not too challenging and it isn’t difficult to do alongside full time employment.

I have found the method of module delivery good at Cranfield. When I was doing my degree we had one day a week in university with multiple modules. It made it difficult because you’d forget what you’d learnt the previous week by the time you went the following week. The short concentrated modules you do at Cranfield are much better for absorbing the material. Then the single exam or assignment due a couple of weeks later ensures all the information is still fresh in your mind. This is good from a work life balance too. I can get my assignment done and dusted quickly and it doesn’t interfere with my work.

What was Cranfield's impact

For the moment, I am concentrating on my Masters as well as my role as a project manager with Accenture. However in the future, I would like to work for myself and start a small business. I have an interest in renewable energy, recycling and repurposing and therefore I hope I am able to work in this field over the coming years. I believe that my qualification will help me become a chartered engineer and also help me in the future with prospective jobs by helping my CV stand out against others.