UKC

Dear All

I am trying to help a pupil with selection of degree course.

Could anyone recommend a good Mechanical Engineering Degree (preferably MEng but BEng OK) with a sandwich year in industry.

Many thanks for any help, Simon

In reply to jockster:

My husband, who is a) a Chartered Engineer and b) a graduate recruiter says: Loughborough, Nottingham, Bristol, Birmingham, Strathclyde, Imperial or Cambridge (and probably in that order).

Shout if you need more info

In reply to jockster:

Edinburgh does an MEng with a six month period in industry at the end of the 4th year (5 year course).

In reply to jockster:

Bristol only does a year in industry with Eng Design

In reply to jockster: University of Manchester is good for Engineering. It is made of up Manchester Victoria Uni and UMIST after a merger, and since UMIST was a specialist science/technology campus it is a good option.

In reply to jockster:
I'm a chartered Mech Eng, I went to Manchester. When recruiting I like: Manchester (obv), Imperial, Southampton, Bristol, Sheffield to name a few.

Main thing is to get around and have a look, the course needs to suit, for example Oxford engineering degrees are very different from Manchester's...

In reply to Caralynr:

Cambridge does exchanges with MIT and a couple of other unis but it doesn't do a sandwich year in industry, though if you do certain modules you can do short industrial placements in your 4th year.

Sheffield and bath are worth a look for courses with sandwich years. Warwick might do one as well.

In reply to Carter:
Everyone at Cam does a placement between 1 and 2 years, its mandatory, but they dont help you find it and like you no sandwich.
A friend of mine did the mit year, think it worked well altho you end up with a slightly strange qualification.
Would def recommend cambridge but, now being a CEng and engineering recruiter, I think a full sandwich year would be a really good option IF it is in the industry in which you want a career. Imperial is probably the best after Cam, Manchester another. Ive also had good candidates from a range of places though.
Si

In reply to Si dH: * should have 'like you say there is no sandwich'

In reply to Caralynr:

I'd agree the above list (though not the order) but add in Sheffield.

Manchester is a funny one, they have a good reputation but seem to never get ranked above about 20 for MEng. This makes a difference if HR or an external recruitment company review C.V.s before they get to the Engineering department as they might (as my HR dept has) discount them. Despite being a Manchester based company, we don't recruit from Manchester Uni!

I'd definitely go for a MEng course. If they change their mind, they can drop down to BEng but most good graduates will have MEng and employers (I'm speaking as someone who does the MEng graduate recruitment for my company) put them at the top of the pile.

In reply to jockster: Take a look at Engineering Design at Bristol University. Not 100% Mechanical, but pretty close to (if you want it to be). Message me with questions if you like, I graduated from it a year ago.

In reply to jockster: University of Birmingham used to do a Mechanical MEng with year in industry, assume it's still going.

In reply to jockster: Another vote for Sheffield. Some of my friends graduated from MEng courses in the mech department this year and all have found jobs. I did some of the thermodynamics modules as part of my undergrad and found them to be taught well and as interesting as you could reasonably expect. Sheffield has really good ties with industry so lots of people do the sandwich year.

In reply to jockster:

Loughborough and you can switch from BEng to MEng and sandwich to non sandwich and vice versa. The flexibility is good for someone looking at committing 5 years of their life at the age of 18