Image: Our retractable gear bridge for the final project in engineering design methods.

Hi, I’m Zoe. I’m studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in mechatronics engineering. I chose engineering because I love learning and problem-solving, and it’s a career that will continue to challenge me and one I’ll continue to learn a lot in.

The course is quite project-oriented, which I find incredibly rewarding. You not only get to accomplish a goal that initially seemed very abstract and challenging but also develop your soft skills and meet lots of interesting people who share your interests and passions.

For my engineering methods class, I worked on a project where we built a series of different bridges. We learned a lot about 3D printing and how to use SolidWorks. I’d never been exposed to these programs before, and completing this project left me feeling competent in designing and printing 3D models, which opened up a world of possibilities to me. I also had an amazing team, who taught me a lot, and who I had a lot of fun with.

At the Monash Engineering Student Society (MESS) camp, we were assigned teams and “parents” (older engineering students). We completed a series of bonding activities that made it easy to make friends with the people in the team. There were also plenty of opportunities to socialise with other people outside of your designated team. Ultimately, the camp made me a lot less scared of my cohort (realising that most of us are a little weird) and connected me with current students who were further along in their course, who I could ask questions and gain advice from. The camp also acted as a talking point and made me a familiar face to a lot of people, which made it easy to meet people in my classes and start conversations.

Image: Final day of MESS camp with Smurf squad and our doof stick.

Living on campus gave me a lot of knowledge of the campus and made me comfortable navigating it. It also made it somewhat easier to make friends as I could invite people to play a game of pool or cook food with me in between classes. The residential halls also set up a series of social events and sporting competitions to help people create connections with other students who live on campus. The 8am classes were also significantly less brutal as it’s only a 5-minute walk to class. However, I think it’s very easy to become very comfortable in your room and choose to study there or take a nap in between classes rather than studying or getting lunch in the public spaces with friends.

I was honestly surprised by the freedom we’re given and the number of support systems the university offers to help students. There are also always events and ways of getting some free food. Overall, the campus had a much brighter and more social energy than I expected it to have.

I’m honestly very uncertain about what my path looks like after I graduate. However, I do feel that Monash has prepared me for whatever that may be. They offer many different professional development opportunities including seminars, student teams, and mentoring programs. Participating in some of these exposed me to the soft skills (particularly teamwork skills) that are required in industry.