Meet our IEA - Anton

My name is Anton and I am currently a second-year student, studying MEng Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Originally, I am from Russia, but I have lived and studied in Cyprus from 2010 until 2016. My parents had an opportunity to send me to Cyprus to get British education with a future aim of obtaining a degree in UK.  I successfully completed my IGCSEs in American Academy Limassol and my A-Levels in the Institute of Maths and Sciences.

When I was choosing universities via UCAS, I decided to make the University of Sheffield my firm choice because the Department of Materials Science and Engineering was ranked in the Top 10 universities of UK. My decision was affected by comments of students that this course before, level of research and level of employability after graduation. This year our department has been ranked second in the UK in the Times Good University Guide 2018 and this proves that it is one of the top providers of the course.

My course provides the opportunity to work in groups and individually. The quality of teaching is great, and lecturers are keen to provide feedback on your work in order to facilitate your personal development. In the first year, you will be assigned to a tutor who will organise either group or one-to-one sessions that can make a crucial difference in understanding of a certain topic. In addition, one of the most important aspects of my course is lab work. Almost every week I had a hands-on practical related to materials science and to be honest they were very useful in consolidating knowledge from lectures. Also, the department organises visits to different companies so that students can see how their knowledge can be applied in practice and why it is important in industry.

Starting from the first year, you can get involved in various student-led projects that will stand out in your CV once you will apply for internships or graduate placements.  Sheffield bears a long history in materials science due to large-scale production of steel and invention of stainless steel. Besides that, it is one of the greenest cities in the UK and it is a neighbour to a beautiful national park called “Peak District”. The city has many cultural places and attractions such as theatres, museums and parks. Moreover, the university offers a variety of indoors and outdoors sports that can satisfy anyone’s choice.

The Student Union has been ranked 1st in the UK for the eighth consecutive year for a good reason. This is the place where you can get support in your social life, education and even personal issues. The Diamond building provides superb facilities for doing any project work, laboratory work, organising activities for student societies and much more. In case you encounter any difficulties in your studies, you will be able to get support from a 301 Workshop that operates opposite to the Student’s Union.

After my degree at Sheffield, I plan to be involved in research of materials for either nuclear fusion reactors or advanced manufacturing technologies as a PhD student. I aim to climb a career ladder to the position of a R&D Director or start my own business venture with my friends. To all prospective students, I would recommend having ambitious goals and work hard to achieve them because the university is a place where your dreams can really come true! Enjoy every moment at the University and make it count!