Hi, I am Seb,
Hi, I’m Seb, and I’m a British-Colombian based in near London, UK. I recently graduated from Loughborough University with a master's degree in Product Design Engineering. I’ve always been someone passionate about creativity and having fun with the work that I do, as that’s what I believe renders the best results! I’m currently working as a math tutor prior to a much-needed year of travelling, but will be entering the corporate world upon my return to Europe where I hope to continue my professional journey with an engineering company in London or abroad.
What attracted you to apply to the UNITECH programme?
Having a Colombian dad and a family who loved to travel always made me want to experience living life abroad. UNITECH’s unique offer of a half-and-half year at a different university and then a well-renowned engineering company, all before finishing my degree, was too good an offer to pass up. It was the perfect mix of pushing my comfort zones, suiting my general interests, and allowing me to expand my network of friends and connections simultaneously. Other exchange programmes offered by my university were much more one-dimensional in what they offered, so UNITECH’s mix of experiences on offer was a no-brainer for me once I saw it.
What did you enjoy most about your experience in the UNITECH programme, and how has the programme helped prepare you for the next steps in your career?
What I enjoyed the most from the programme so far has to be the people I met throughout, whether that's the students in the cohort, the UNITECH staff, the friends made in the countries I lived in, or the corporate connections. It just really opened my eyes to how good the mixing of so many cultures are for so many aspects of life. I’ve made friends for life, and I can’t wait to see how everyone grows and gains experience all over the world. The programme has prepared me for my dream which is to live and work all over the world. It allowed me to prove to myself that I can do it even if it feels daunting at the time. That sentiment will stick with me well into the future as I grow professionally and in my personal life!
What are some of the biggest lessons you've learned in your career so far?
I’d say expect the unexpected and embrace that unknown. Having too rigid an idea of where you want your career to go can lead to frustration and blocking progress. A character trait I’ve come to value above many others is openness. Being open to change and to things you initially thought you couldn’t do is literally the number one way to succeeding in life. My internship was seemingly relatively far removed from my skillset, so I was tentative at first. I just tried as hard as I could, and maintained a positive attitude, and ended up learning so much through my time in Germany at Evonik. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had and gave me a great idea as to how my full-time job would be after university if I were to work abroad as planned.
What are some of the biggest trends you see in your industry, and how are you preparing for them?
One of my biggest passions within engineering, and the world in general, is sustainability. I made special efforts throughout the later years of my degree to choose classes surrounding the topic in order to equip myself with the necessary skills needed to contribute to sustainability efforts during my work. There are many legislative movements emerging every day to meet green targets globally and I’d love to be part of helping humanity reach those goals! I had a great focus on sustainable product design, for example the concept of ‘Design for X’, i.e. where designers must consider a host of aspects of a product at all stages of its life cycle to reduce environment impacts in a range of ways e.g. energy consumption, disassembly ease etc.