My Interest in Studying Product Design and Manufacturing

Before a product is manufactured, marketed and then finally released it must be designed to suit the consumer’s needs. These processes of designing, modelling and prototyping have captured my interest as I believe these processes are the most important part of a product’s lifecycle. I realised I wanted to study product design and manufacturing after I attended a student conference, in which the design aspects of engineering captivated my interest. Could current manufacturing processes such as automated manufacture with robotics be more economical? Can conservation and recycling of resources counteract the emissions caused by mass production? Questions like these further interest me about the manufacturing aspect of this course. In June 2018 the Vivo Nex S captivated my interest as its front-facing camera is hidden within a motorised mechanism that comes up from within the body of the phone; such technological developments fascinate me particularly about the innovating engineering parts of the course.

Maths and Further Maths, notably Mechanics and core Pure maths, have allowed me to become adept in working with numbers; working with many complex algebraic equations with multiple variables and has taught me how to tackle problems logically and find and correct mistakes easily. A-level Physics has provided me with a strong foundation for the engineering aspects of this course particularly with statics, dynamics, electricity, and materials. Attending a Materials Science taster day at the University of Oxford allowed me to gain an understanding of materials used in manufacture and their applications in industry. I have taken part in extra-curricular projects such as being the aerodynamic engineer for a UK Youth Rocketry competition; I also lead my team in a Safe Cracking competition run by Weizmann UK. I had the responsibility of designing and making fins for our rocket with a tight deadline; I assessed different materials and finally chose the material with the best strength to mass ratio. Through school-wide debates, I have enhanced my communication skills and been able to speak to larger audiences. I am experienced with video production as I have edited many videos for past school assemblies and for class presentations, this has improved my ability to present ideas and concepts in front of my peers.

I have gained confidence through my experiences of traveling in the summer of 2017 to Australia, Singapore, and India, travelling alone made my trip a challenging adventure but overall it has made me more resilient, decisive and independent. Furthermore, my travels have also enabled me to adapt and deal with unplanned obstacles and issues, for example, whilst in Australia due to heavy rain I needed to re-plan my stay considering the extreme weather conditions. Outside of school, I have helped promote events in local shops this has developed my negotiation skills. I have taught a second language (Gujarati) to children within my local community, this has given me collaborative skills, the ability to think critically and improved my organisation and management skills. Conducting bake sales and fundraising has enabled me to learn to bake as well as providing me with budget management skills along with giving me a proactive attitude. I look forward to studying this course for the opportunity to focus on aspects of design and engineering which are as yet unknown to me.

In the future, I aspire to design, manufacture and market products independently as part of my own business. Specifically, I’d love to design inventive camera accessories and add-ons; products like the DJI Ronin S have inspired me to pursue product design and manufacture. This course will provide me with the necessary skills and knowledge to follow my career plans and I believe that I will be able to adapt to university life as I have the problem-solving skills, confidence, resilience, and initiative to become a great designer and engineer.