Oliver Cory

Choosing Surrey

Its prestigious history of electrical engineering, the league table rankings and the current ongoing research all helped in my decision to choose Surrey.

After attending an open day, the University was on my shortlist. The green spaces and atmosphere on campus drew me in instantly. Venturing into Guildford and walking along the old high street only furthered my fondness for the town and its surrounding areas.

I met the lecturers for my course and they were all personable, understanding and down to earth. They seemed to care about their subject as well as the potential students attending the open day. Their passion was evident. It was a big deciding factor in why I chose Surrey.

My course

I’ve always had an appreciation for technology, electronics and figuring out how things work. From a young age, I always questioned why and how devices functioned in the way they did, and I loved to tinker with old computers.

This degree gives me the opportunity to gain the answers to all the questions my younger self would ask. My time here will allow me to gain the necessary skills and knowledge I need to start designing, experimenting with, and implementing my own electrical and electronic devices.

Foundation year

This was an excellent experience, helping further my knowledge in all areas of engineering, mathematics and physics. It aided my practical skills, report writing and time management. It also enhanced my ability to work within a team.

All of these skills are transferrable to my degree and they’ll help during lab work and working alongside other engineers in the future.

My foundation year meant I was able to enter the first year of my degree:

• Knowing my way around campus
• Knowing how to study in a university environment
• Achieving the correct work-life balance.

It’s given me an advantage over my peers because I'm more familiar with the workload. This meant I struggled less to meet deadlines and achieved higher grades than I’d have been able to otherwise.

Highlights

Lab sessions are the highlight of the course for me. Being able to apply the skills and knowledge I’ve gained to something tangible is extremely satisfying. I spend time calculating, designing and deliberating – and it’s the most rewarding of feelings when it all works out.  

My abiding memory of Surrey, however, will be the friends I’ve made.

Life at Surrey

I was part of the University of Surrey Canoe Club. I had the opportunity to visit Wales and canoe down the River Dee. It was an awesome experience. I competed in a canoe polo tournament, too, which was fun but tiring!

I also competed in the HackSurrey Hackathon in a team with two of my coursemates. This is an event where you have 24 hours to design, code and present a solution to a real-world problem. We finished in second place overall and won the prize for the best implementation of Google Cloud services. It was an amazing experience. I learnt a lot and I’d recommend it to any student interested in coding.

Living in student accommodation was an amazing experience as well. I made lifelong friends with the people in my block and flat, experienced some amazing nights out and had a fantastic time with everyone I met.

The future

I aim to enter the workplace somewhere I can use the skills I’ve learnt to further the pursuit of new technologies that make the everyday a little easier for everyone. This could include electronics, communications systems, embedded systems, computing or robotics.

Learn more about undergraduate study in our Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.