Andrew Fletcher, 28, from Thetford, studied an Engineering Design (Top Up) degree with University Studies at West Suffolk College.
Andrew completed his degree part-time alongside his job as a Product Technical Manager at TROX UK – a local manufacturing company based in Thetford.
On his college and university journey with Eastern Education Group, he said: “I started at West Suffolk College in 2017 on an Engineering Manufacturing Technician course. I knew nothing about engineering, so I did all the fundamentals at college and learnt at work as well. Once I finished my apprenticeship, I progressed through HNC and HND engineering courses at the College and became a Product Technical Manager at work, which allowed me to start my degree.”
Specifically talking about university, Andrew said: “It was a really eye-opening experience. We got exposure to lots of different engineering sectors from our lecturers who had worked in different engineering fields.
“It was just a nice learning environment. Having only a small number of students in the class meant the lessons were quite casual but still very informative. It was more of a discussion between everyone, so it worked well for the way I learn. I’ve encouraged a number of family and friends to take the same academic route.”
Andrew won a ‘best dissertation’ award at the graduation ceremony held in Bury St Edmunds for a piece he wrote about fire and smoke safety in large buildings.
He said: “After my company heard about my dissertation, they helped me steer my career path so I can look at developing my skills further within the fire and smoke engineering sector.”
To anyone considering a degree, Andrew said: “If you want a degree and you’ve never been able to commit to going full-time, completing it part-time is a brilliant way to do it.”
And on the future he said: “Next year, I’m going to start my Master’s, I’m just picking a place and topic. Hopefully something that’s related to the fire and smoke safety engineering field.”
