For Master of Engineering student, Santosh Pandey, 2022 is turning into a year of new experiences.
Santosh is gearing up to complete his Master of Engineering (Mechanical) degree on-campus, where he will be able to have face-to-face interactions with EIT staff and lecturers following the first semester where he completed his course online.
“I am excited to attend the college physically,” he proclaims.
Some of the reasons he’s studying and completing his postgraduate degree in person have to do with his deep love and appreciation for engineering, and being with like-minded students and mentors could mean so much as he is intentional about gaining expertise in different countries.
“Studying Mechanical Engineering has always been my dream. From the onset when I pursued my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University in India, I aimed to complete a postgraduate qualification as well.”
As life would have it Santosh completed his undergraduate degree and then worked for three years as a mechanical engineer, before continuing his education.
“After having those experiences, I was motivated to broaden my academic horizon,” he says.
Except for just pursuing another degree, he’s also in a new environment where he will meet international and Australian students at EIT.
How are you preparing for campus life?
Getting all the things in order is obviously an arduous task. Being an international student, one needs to figure out the local culture and realize language and other barriers could exist. At the same time, you have to focus on being a student – and that means making studying your top priority. To excel in my academics, I have always tried to complete my task on time. To achieve that I have prepared a semester planner (mind map), and I am following that organizer so I never have to worry about completing the assignments and other activities on time.
How do you think being an on-campus student might benefit you working as an engineer?
I believe in excelling in engineering practices, one needs to have excellent interpersonal skills as well as sound knowledge of the subject. To achieve both of them, being on campus helps a lot.
How did you cope during 2021 combining education, work and life in general, and how will you apply yourself in 2022?
Everything was new when I first arrived in Australia. Since the beginning, studying is always my first priority. After fulfilling my study hours, I worked on a part-time basis so that I could manage my living expenses. I suppose 2022 will going to be the same year for me. Plus, I will attend an internship, training and seminar related to Mechanical Engineering so that I could expand my academic horizons!
How do you unwind and are there specific activities you enjoy?
I am a huge Chelsea Football Club fan, and I try not to miss any live streaming as much as possible. I’m also exploring my new city – and enjoy going to the beach with my wife!
What do you love about your field of engineering?
Engineering not only teaches you knowledge but it gives you a great opportunity to learn dedication, perseverance and patience. With these, you will have plenty of options to progress as an engineer.
You’re planning an office event and you can select any speaker (living, fictional or dead), who would you invite and why?
I would invite Sheldon Cooper (A fictional character from The Big Bang Theory) to an office event and asks him why he hates engineering so much.
Ideally, how would you like to use your education, interests and skills to better the world?
A better world can be imagined when there is a better society. Upon completing my master’s degree, I would like to seek work experience in my field abroad. By having those experiences, I will return to my home country Nepal. Since Nepal is a developing nation, it requires many experienced engineers to develop infrastructures, highways, big hydropower projects and much more.
What’s your best advice to first-year students?
My advice would be to make your studies a priority. Attend the training and seminars as much as possible.
Do you think you’ll continue to study, and why?
Yes. I believe learning is a never-ending process. To shape a sound career path, one needs to have an excellent educational background.
With such determination, and a study advisor ready to assist him in completing a Master of Engineering (Mechanical) it’s obvious that Santosh will become a valued part of EIT’s community on-campus.