My name is Jamie Tapper, I studied BSc in Sports and Material Science and I graduated from that in 2015 and then I went on to study an MSc in Material Science and Engineering and graduated from that in 2016.
So my current job is I am a Graduate Research Engineer at the National Composites Centre in Bristol. On the graduate scheme we do a number of six-month rotations, rotating into different capability groups within the business, so that we get exposure to different areas of engineering whether it be the materials and processes group, more on the manufacturing side, or in the design and simulation department.
Since leaving University my career's developed in a slightly different direction to the one that I may have expected. I focused on material science while I was at University, did quite a bit of work in polymers, but then when I joined the NCC [National Composites Centre] I ended up doing a lot more work in process development, developing manufacturing processes, how we use tools and equipment to make parts, so I use some of the information from my degree to inform some of the decisions we've made.
The best thing about what I'm doing right now is probably the variety because we have the opportunity to get involved in whatever sector we may find interesting. So one day I might be looking at a piece of sports equipment for a Paralympic athlete, and the next day I might be looking at how to make a car part that they want to make two hundred thousand parts a year of.
The reason I applied to Birmingham was because the course I chose to do offered me the chance to pursue both the sporting interests that I have and also the interest that I had in science and technology, because originally when I applied I wasn't sure quite what I wanted to do. So that course gave me the chance to follow both. And when I came for the open day here I fell in love with the campus and also the sporting opportunities and variety that was available here.
I focused in on one sport which was cricket so I devoted quite a lot of time towards that club while I was here. I had a number of committee positions including being the Club Captain in my third year and the Performance Manager in my fourth year. The reason I got involved is because I like playing the sport but also it was a great way to meet new people and there's people that I met in that club that I still talk to now. I joined a club up here because of one of the people that I met.
Favourite memories of University…obviously for me sports night was a big one, I really enjoyed sports night, especially when it was at the Guild of Students. As far as night out goes I'm not sure that you can beat it! Other favourite memories of University with the cricket team getting promoted to the Premier Division of BUCS [British Universities and Colleges Sport] was a real highlight in my third year. Away from sport, highlights would be finding something unexpected that I was interested in while at University and continuing to pursue it now. I certainly didn't think I'd end up as an engineer when I came here, but yeah, I'm really glad that I did.
By coming to University I'd say I grew as a person because I grew up in Devon so I lived in quite a small town, I hadn't had a lot of broad experiences, coming to Birmingham - big city - it was very different. I met a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds that I hadn't necessarily come across before so being able to deal with them, get on with them, it was definitely a way that I grew as a person and that's something that again I find valuable in my career. But also outside of work with the coaching I do and the people that I meet, being able to interact with lots of different people, I'd say University definitely helped me with that.
My advice for people coming to University would be don't get caught in the University bubble. It's a great environment to be in but you're in a new city, you're in a new area, there's so much more that you can do. Go out of the University bubble, meet other people not necessarily from uni, do some different things because you can make connections and friends like I did that you still value now.
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