Kurtis Wood

Graduate Construction Engineer, Petrofac

Kurtis, who studied Structural Engineering with Architectural Design in the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure & Society, now works as a Graduate Construction Engineer at Petrofac.

What appealed to you most about Heriot-Watt University when you made the decision to come here?

The fact that Heriot-Watt is renowned as a technical ‘nuts and bolts' type of university greatly appealed to me, especially as I was doing a structural engineering degree. This type of learning and teaching environment is very unique compared to other universities.

How has your degree programme prepared you for a career?

Although I don't use all of the technical content of my degree on a day-to-day basis, I do use the strong people and communication skills I developed throughout the programme all the time, which are essential in building professional relationships with industry post-university. I would also add that the tight time deadlines imposed by work on the degree courses may seem like an inconvenience at the time, but these really do prepare you for the reality of the working world – where everything needs to have been done yesterday!

What would you say to prospective students considering Heriot-Watt as their first choice of university?

Heriot-Watt is an excellent choice for your undergraduate education. Not only will you receive
first-class teaching from subject-leading lecturers, but you will also find a very strong ‘willing-tolearn' culture across the whole University, something which really does create an excellent learning environment. Heriot-Watt is also consistently ranked very highly in the UK's University ranking lists, showing a strong commitment towards maintaining high standards in both their formal education and overall student satisfaction. This, in itself, should fill any prospective student with confidence!