Rolls-Royce Hires University of Southampton Graduate

The University of Southampton has once again produced a successful engineering graduate, who has secured a job at a Fortune 500 company.

University of Southampton Malaysia Campus graduate and three time Lloyd's Register Foundation scholar, Jeremy Fong, shares with us the secret to fulfilling a lifelong dream - to work for a world leading aero-engine manufacturing company.

The company, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, hired Jeremy when they found out that he passed the online application, online test and a stringent test at the Rolls-Royce assessment centre with flying colours. Jeremy coming first, out of 12 shortlisted candidates then managed to hone his dream job as a control engineer at Rolls-Royce's Birmingham office in the UK.

What follows is the excerpt of the interview on how he managed to secure his dream job.

Why did you choose to study at Southampton?

I spent the first two years of my Master’s in Engineering degree at the Malaysia Campus and my final two years on the Highfield Campus in Southampton. I chose to study at the University of Southampton Malaysia Campus because of the low student-to-lecturer ratio, which encourages the two-way learning that is especially important for South-East Asian students – as we tend to be more quiet and passive learners.

How did you find studying at Southampton's Malaysia Campus?

My first year at the University was a real adjustment period; I realised that university is not like school. There would be no more spoon-feeding of knowledge. However, the experience helped me to start taking responsibility for my own learning – studying from resources beyond the formal curriculum as well as becoming an independent critic of the course material and content. This work all paid off when I won a prestigious Lloyd’s Register Foundation scholarship for coming top in my year, which paid for my tuition fees. I also went on to win the same scholarship for the next two years of my studies.

I enjoyed group assignments because I got to work with talented people from diverse cultures. We respected each other’s ideas, and we knew when one of us should take charge and when to listen to others.

How did you find moving to and living in the UK?

When I moved to the UK in my third year, i was pretty scared of making new friends and how to fit in, but my time in the UK was the best experience of my life. I enjoyed group assignments because I got to work with talented people from diverse cultures. We respected each other’s ideas, and we knew when one of us should take charge and when to listen to others.

While at Southampton, I was based in the Tizard Building (Building 13), which also houses the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, so I made friends with students from the acoustic courses. I also took advantage of the wide range of clubs and societies available and joined the Catholic Society. I made many more friends through this society, which became my second home, and I enjoyed participating in its events.

Did you feel supported by the University?

My final year was like a marathon, full of deadlines, including my dissertation thesis. I was very lucky to have two excellent supervisors – Professor Phil Joseph and Dr Michael Kingan – who were always there to help me, even when that meant having Skype calls after office hours. When I had completed my dissertation, I felt I had done a full spectrum of my subject area and felt well prepared for my future.

Studying at the University of Southampton was definitely the right decision for me. Through my experiences at the University, I discovered my passion for engineering and over the past four years I’ve made some lifelong friends who have helped me develop myself as a person