A student who nearly sold his car to pay for university and another who did a degree to ‘stay out of trouble’ have both won a national engineering prize.
Robert Latchford and Menelik Martin have been awarded an IET Engineering Horizons Bursary to help fund their degree studies at Staffordshire University.
The bursaries are awarded to apprentices and students with a passion for engineering who may face, or have faced, challenges or personal obstacles.
Formula One fanatic Robert, 21 from Kent, is studying Motorsport Technology and nearly sold his beloved car to pay his way through university.
“The bursary will help put me at ease financially whilst at university and allow me to focus further upon study” he explained.
“It has been a worry that I may have to sell my car which is very dear to me. It has provided me with such great passion for motorsport in the last year and aided me so much with getting the opportunity to apply theory and new ideas into a real-world situation.”
22-year-old Menelik Martin from Moss Side in Manchester is studying Mechanical Engineering. Menelik is dyslexic and is the first person in his family to go university.
He said: “The reason I picked this course is to stay out of trouble. Where I come from people don’t really go to university so I took this opportunity.
“I struggled with Maths and English and I didn’t think I was going to go to university but if you have people behind you then you can do it. You just have to push harder and believe in yourself.”
Robert and Menelik will both receive £1,000 per year of their degree and membership with the Institute of Engineering Technology during their degree studies. They will also benefit from mentoring from the IET and placement opportunities.
Robert, whose goal is to manage a motor racing team, said: “It’s also about being accepted into the IET family and meeting other people who are passionate about engineering. Hopefully it will help kickstart my career.”
Debi Roberts, Senior Lecturer in Transport Engineering, commented: “It’s really good news to see Robert has been awarded an IET Engineering Horizons Bursary to help support him in his studies.
“We encourage all our students to get involved with the Engineering professional bodies during their studies – as the opportunities, knowledge and networking that comes from that interaction really improves their confidence and employability.”
Although he is in the first year of his degree, Menelik also has grand aspirations for when he graduates and hopes to work overseas as a gas engineer in Dubai.
He added: “It feels good because I’ve achieved something. I can buy a new laptop now and it means that I can focus on getting my grades higher.
“I think it will help with my career. If I didn’t have the IET behind me then I don’t think I would get as many opportunities.”
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