Progress to Postgrad: Harris

Posted on: 22 July 2026 by Richard Finch in Class of 2025

Harris graduated in 2025 with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and went on to continue their journey at Imperial College London, where they studied for an MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering.

What motivated you to pursue postgraduate study, and when did you realise it was the right path for you? 

My motivation to pursue postgraduate study built-up gradually. I loved my undergrad at Liverpool and kept wanting to go deeper rather than stop at a bachelor's.

My placements at Siemens Energy and CRP Subsea were my turning point as I expected industry to feel like the end goal, but it left me with more questions than answers, and I realised that I was more stimulated doing the parts that pushed into unknown territory. By final year, juggling the Liverpool Hyperloop Society and my own robotics work, I kept wishing I had more time to specialise. A research-heavy MSc was the obvious way to get it. 

What were the biggest challenges you faced during the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study, and how did you overcome them? 

The biggest jump was independence. Undergrad gives you structure in lectures, problem sheets and clear right answers, whereas an MSc that has a lot of work towards research is far more self-directed, and a lot of my thesis work involved problems with no textbook solution. Early on that was daunting, especially when experiments didn't go to plan. What helped was finding support through supervisors and the lab group, rather than trying to solve everything alone. Moving to a new university and city added to it, but it pushed me to build a network quickly. 

Is there anything you are doing outside of your studies that has supported your development whilst studying? 

Definitely Formula Student. I was part of the team at Liverpool and carried it straight into my MSc, where I am now on the Imperial Formula Racing and Eco-Marathon Teams. It has been a good counterweight to a research-heavy degree: where my thesis is deep and largely solo, Formula Student is fast, collaborative and hands-on. It is also where the theory can be translated to real-life, I take what I learn in simulation and structures modules and apply it to real parts I design, validate and build. And working to race deadlines in a big multidisciplinary team has done as much for my development as anything on the syllabus. 

If you could give future grads one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Say yes to opportunities outside the curriculum. Almost everything has shaped my path, the placements, the competitions, founding societies, all happened around my degree rather through it. Your grades matter, but the projects and role you take beyond the syllabus are what build your confidence, your network and the story you tell employers. 

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