Hi, my name is Caitlin and I am studying Mechanical Engineering. Birmingham has always been a city close to my heart. I grew up fairly nearby but didn’t intend to even apply here until I came on the open day – I had a plan to be as far away from home as possible. Despite all my plans, Birmingham quickly became my firm favourite university. It’s a campus university with plenty of green space (check out the Green Heart) and tonnes of brand-new buildings with state-of-the-art facilities. One of the buildings that drew me to Birmingham was the sport and fitness centre which boasts the only 50 m pool in Birmingham. As a lifelong swimmer, the swimming club and pool were important to me when selecting a university. In terms of engineering, the collaborative teaching laboratory phase I and II both have excellent facilities that can be used for labs and as a shared teaching area.
Furthermore, Birmingham always has something to offer. Whether you’re into music, sport or art – there’s something in the city for you. It also has the feel of a much smaller place than it really is. Being the size that it is, Birmingham is a fairly walkable place and a stroll along the canal in the summertime is a must. However, if the city centre doesn’t beckon you, it’s very easy to stay within the university bubble that is created by living so close to campus – which many students find the case, with first years living at accommodation villages and the majority of older years being in Selly Oak. Selly Oak has enough social spaces to keep most Selly Oak residents entertained every day of the week and you’re bound to see someone you know whenever you’re out and about.
With regards to engineering, I didn’t begin at Birmingham doing mechanical, I was on the general engineering course which Birmingham offers for the first year before you must specialise. I was able to do this as civil, electrical and mechanical engineers at Birmingham share a common first year. This suited me as I was able to experience the different disciplines before having to decide which one, I enjoyed most. Then, at the end of first year, I made the choice to switch onto the mechanical course as I felt it held my interest more than the other disciplines.
I explored the possibilities of many different subjects when looking around universities – ranging from history to maths and of course engineering. In the beginning, I found it hard to make any decisions about my chosen degree subject but soon enough, engineering took my fancy. It offered a variety that wasn’t available in other subjects – there was clearly a good balance between theory-based work and the real-life application of these theories. From there, I was able to explore the different types of engineering available but decided to choose the general engineering course at Birmingham.
