UWS Alumni Blog

Month: June 2024

Industry-focused Graduate Apprenticeships
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News

Industry-focused Graduate Apprenticeships

Graduate Apprenticeships (GAs) at UWS provide a fully-funded pathway for individuals to a achieve degree or for organisations to invest in the talents of their workforce. Some sectors are reporting critical skills shortages that are affecting the growth of individual organisations and the wider Scottish economy. Graduate Apprenticeships have been developed in response to demand from industry, and are matched to industries that need employees with degree-level qualifications and real-world work experience. UWS is delivering Graduate Apprenticeships with support from Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland. Tuition fees are met by Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), which reduces the cost to employers and means they can maximise the return on investment. GAs are ...
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Prestigious Videogames Award for Graduate
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Alumni Stories

Prestigious Videogames Award for Graduate

A University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate has won a prestigious national award for a videogame developed as a final year project. Scott Ewing – who graduated from the BSc Computer Games Development course last year – produced Rope Robot for his dissertation. The innovative puzzle-platformer has now been recognised with a highly sought-after Gamebridge prize, designed to recognise the best videogames created by students from across the UK. Rope Robot – which can be played for free via Itch.io – features realistic rope physics and intricate puzzles, which have multiple solutions; allowing players to be creative and to play the game in a way that is unique to them. The 27-year-old said: “I’m really proud to have won this award and I still can’t quite belie...
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UWS Academic and Alumna Named Engineering ‘Trailblazer’
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UWS Academic and Alumna Named Engineering ‘Trailblazer’

An internationally-respected academic and graduate from University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has been named as a winner of the Top 50 Women in Engineering (WE50) awards. Dr Michele Cano – Head of the Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences at UWS – is a mechanical and manufacturing engineer, with over 30-years of experience. Michele began her career in shipbuilding, before moving to the higher education sector; eventually joining the University of Paisley – UWS’s predecessor institution – in 1993, as a lecturer in Quality Engineering. She graduated with a PhD in Lean Manufacturing in 2016 from UWS. Throughout her academic career, she has placed a heavy focus on growing the diversity of the sector. She has also built ties internationally, working on collaborations across ...
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International Women in Engineering Day: Rebecca Macdonald
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Profiles

International Women in Engineering Day: Rebecca Macdonald

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate Rebecca Macdonald has always had an interest in STEM subjects all through her school days, so a career in engineering was never in doubt. “I was drawn to engineering after years in the Sea Cadets, where I was able to attend expand on my interest by attending engineering courses at HMS Gannet in Prestwick,” commented Rebecca. Choosing the BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering course at UWS, Rebecca began to hone her engineering interests and following graduation in 2014, she joined Scotland TranServ working on the Southwest Trunk Road Contract that year as a Graduate Engineer. “My experience has focussed on bridge maintenance, including investigations into hidden defects to bridge refurbishments on the trunk road network in the south west o...
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International Women in Engineering Day: Radka Cepelova
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Profiles

International Women in Engineering Day: Radka Cepelova

Mechanical Engineering graduate Radka Cepelova is “living her best life” since graduating from University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and excited by the opportunities a degree in engineering provides. Joining the BEng Mechanical Engineering degree at UWS in 2019 following an HND at City of Glasgow College, Radka is now an engineer at Black & Veatch. “The engineering world has given me lots of options and opportunities,” said Radka. “Studying engineering can be tough, but in the end very rewarding. During my time at UWS, I was lucky to have fantastic lectures and amazing people around me. “Following graduation in 2022 I started my career as a renewable energy engineer and now, while on the waste-to-energy project, I joined the field engineering team. “I have worked at m...
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International Women in Engineering Day: Nathalie Samson
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Profiles

International Women in Engineering Day: Nathalie Samson

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) Aircraft Engineering graduate, Nathalie Samson, is thankful to UWS for helping her reach the heights and achieve her dream of becoming an engineer. As recently as 2017, Nathalie was working in Mexico as a Line Logistics Agent on the shop floor of global aerospace company Bombardier Aerospace, right underneath part of a business jet fuselage, and dreaming of becoming an engineer. “Being so close to the structure made me realise just how fascinated I am by airplanes and how much I would love to work on these incredible pieces of engineering as an engineer. But I had just graduated with a business degree so that idea seemed far out of reach,” commented Nathalie. Following her studies at The International School of Management in Germany, Nathal...
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International Women in Engineering Day: Tina Motz
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Profiles

International Women in Engineering Day: Tina Motz

“In the short time I have spent in Engineering, there has been a huge shift to empower Women in Engineering. I am very proud to be a part of that.” University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate Tina Motz is leading by example and helping to encourage more young people, especially women and girls, to choose a career in engineering. A graduate from the MSc Mechanical Engineering programme at UWS in 2018, Tina is now Thermal Management Lead Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and a STEM Ambassador. “After finishing my studies in Mechanical Engineering, I decided to work in the Automotive industry. Thanks to my degree I was able to get involved with the transformation from combustion to electric vehicles, developing the next generation of zero emission vehicles.” Joining JLR in...
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