Lord Bhattacharyya Higher Education Scholarships

• Casey Burke, University of Salford, BEng Civil Engineering

From a young age Casey has been curious about how things work and come together. He has decided to go into civil engineering after seeing the HS2 work in his local area and aspiring to be a part of a similar large-scale project.

• Faith-Brian Mbahwum, Birmingham City University, BEng Mechanical Engineering

Faith-Brian wants to have a big impact on the world through engineering and was drawn to it because the world around us relies on engineers. He hopes to one day have his own mechanical engineering firm.

• Louie O'Sullivan, Birmingham City University, BEng Mechanical Engineering

Louie says his school maths teacher, a former mechanical engineer, was hugely influential in helping him better understand engineering careers. He is keen to give back and in turn inspire future generations into engineering.

• Aboulashif Riyaj Ahamed, De Montfort University, BEng Aeronautical Engineering

Taking part in school STEM club and working on projects such as building a Bluetooth speaker developed Aboulashif’s interest in engineering. The bursary will help with a lot of the costs associated with going to university.

• Poya Sahak, Solihull College & University Centre, BSc Aircraft Maintenance Engineering

Poya studied both manufacturing and aerospace engineering for four years at college, and decided to pursue aerospace for his degree. Receiving the bursary will mean he no longer has to work part-time throughout his studies.

• Gurmandar Singh Loha, Coventry University, BEng Aerospace Technology

Studying Design Technology in Year 9 sparked Gurmandar’s interest in engineering. In his free time he repairs broken mobile phones and sells them on, and enjoys making models of movie props using CAD.

• Dylendra Sooryamuyah, University of Bath, MEng Aerospace Engineering

Dylendra enjoys the opportunity to be hands-on when it comes to engineering. He completed the Industrial Cadets Gold programme at sixth form, looking at sustainable workplace environments, alongside A Levels in maths, physics and chemistry.

• Rahul Verma: University of Leeds, MEng Electronic and Electrical Engineering

For Rahul, engineering is about being able to create and innovate. He wants to work on a large project that can have major impact. The bursary will give him the opportunity to visit engineering sites around the world, where he can learn directly from the people that work on them.

• Dawud Ahmed, University of Birmingham, BEng Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Having completed a BTEC in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Dawud has recently taken the next step towards his goal of becoming a chartered electrical engineer, by beginning a degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Birmingham.

• Mohammed Shahid Akther, Coventry University, BEng Aerospace Technology

Mohammed says attending taster aerospace engineering lectures at university and lectures from the Royal Aeronautical Society helped him to determine his career path, and made feel fully informed about his choices for further study.

• Jamila Houmadi, Birmingham City University, BEng Electronic Engineering

Jamila completed BTEC Extended Certificates in Applied Science, Business and IT at sixth form. After completing a work experience programme which had an engineering focus, she made up her mind to become an electronic engineer.

• Iqra Khan, Coventry University, MEng Civil Engineering

Iqra credits her Year 11 physics teacher at Sidney Stringer Academy with her decision to study engineering, who she says was passionate and taught her about the real-life application of physics.

• Afras Malik, Coventry University, BEng Aerospace Systems Engineering

Afras says he has always been fascinated by the amazing feats achieved by the aerospace industry such as the Apollo program, where humans landed on the moon, or the work of the Wright Brothers who came up with practical solutions after many tests and trials.

• James Wilkes, Solihull College & University Centre, BSc Aircraft Maintenance Engineering

Despite originally planning to join the RAF, James instead completed a BTEC in Aeronautical Engineering at Solihull College & University Centre, where he is now completing a degree in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering.

• Abdulhakim Fundikira, Coventry University, BSc Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management

From a young age, Abdulhakim had always looked for ways to make things more practical, including a project where he designed a mixer tap using only a 2-litre plastic bottle.

• Farid Moulaye, London South Bank University, BEng Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Farid enjoyed engineering at school as it was very practical and hands on in comparison to other subjects and it allowed him to develop his problem solving and creativity skills.

• Jessica Oliver, Coventry University, BSc Construction Management

Jess chose this career path when looking into sixth form study at WMG Academy for Young Engineers, Solihull, which was actively promoting opportunities available to females in the engineering industry.

• Saman Salih, Coventry University, BEng Electro-Mechanical Engineering

Saman has always wanted to pursue a career in engineering and obtained an EPQ during sixth form for research on “ethical geo-engineering solutions” for carbon dioxide removal from the Earth’s atmosphere.