Pratham's story

A day in the life on my aerospace engineering course

Author - Pratham, BEng Aerospace Engineering with Space Technology

Hello!

My name is Pratham Dharu and I am currently a Level 5 BEng Aerospace Engineering with Space Technology student at Herts.

I will be taking you through my average daily schedule on the most productive day of the week which would be Monday this semester 😀

A typical Monday

I usually start my day around 6am and wake up and start preparing all meals for the day. Once I am done cooking, I brew myself a cup of coffee and start walking towards The Oval for my morning gym session. After a sweaty session I go back to my room for a shower. After finishing my breakfast, I leave my flat at around 8.45am and go for my 9am Aerodynamics lecture. Aerodynamics is the study of objects under fluid flow - this module mainly covers fluid dynamics and mechanics. At Herts, we use multiple wind tunnels for aerodynamic testing such as CRM, Subsonic and Supersonic, also using industry-grade software such as CATIA and XFLR5 for computational simulations.

I always carry my charger and iPad with me so I can take notes and charge my phone anywhere on campus. After finishing the three-hour lecture, we get a one-hour break, after which I have my weekly appointment with my research mentor to discuss my progress in the research I am doing this year under the University’s undergraduate pathway research programme. After a great discussion with my mentor, I head back to my flat as it is already 1pm and I am hungry by this point in time 😋

After lunch, I clean my room and do my laundry then head to my 3pm practical session for Materials Science module - it's easy for me to get to the classes as it is just a five-minute walk from my flat. Materials is one of the most important topics for aerospace, as it deals with strength and testing different types of material for aircrafts and spacecrafts.

The University has various active student sessions suitable for both freshers and pro league players. The reason I go for active student sessions is not just the fitness, but the free merch you get for just participating in sports such as shirts and hoodies! After practice on my way back to College Lane on my bike, I stop at Aldi which is a two-minute walk from de Havilland Campus, pick up my weekly groceries and head back to my flat. I head to the LRC, which again is just a five-minute walk from my flat.

I finish my homework and work emails on the silent floor as I am the ‘do not disturb’ kind of person when it comes to work or academics. I complete all my work by 10pm and head back home.

This was a productive day in my weekly schedule but usually it is not this busy!

After hours

I enjoy going out with my friends to The Forum for Friday lights or karaoke nights on campus. I participate in a lot of active student and society events and am currently a committee member for four societies at Herts SU. I do occasionally spend my time on the Cessna 172 full scale flight simulators, especially a few days before when I must go for my flying classes so I can complete my 20 hours of flying before I graduate.

This was a typical day in the life of an average aerospace engineer 👨‍🎓

Sport at Herts

Author - Samantha, Biological Sciences

Participating in sport at university level was something that I was really keen to get involved with when I started my first year at Herts. I have been lucky enough so far to have been involved with two very different but very successful teams; the netball team and the ultimate frisbee team. I’ve played netball since school and absolutely love playing at university level. Herts is well known for its netball programme and it is classed as a performance sport where we get high level coaching from first class trainers as well as strength and conditioning sessions from Performance Herts. Before joining Herts, I had only heard of ultimate frisbee and had never really played it, however I knew I really wanted to take the opportunity to try something new. I turned up to the ultimate frisbee taster sessions with no experience and no knowledge of the game but was welcomed by the team and was soon playing for both the mixed and women’s team. The sessions are really fun and energetic, and the club is open to students of all abilities. Two years on I have been the club chairman and am now playing at club level!

The university hosts a sports fair during the first few weeks of semester A, where all the HertSquad Athletic Union sports gather in the sports hall and promote their sessions to new students. This is a great event as it allows you to find out everything university sport has to offer and allows you to sign up to some free taster sessions. It’s really important for the teams as it’s a chance to invite new people into the sport and to ensure they have a good number of people for training and for matches for the upcoming year.

BUCS Wednesdays are always super fun! This is where majority of the university’s sports clubs will play other universities in different fixtures each week in order to determine league winners. Games will alternate from being home at the sports village or away, potentially all around the country. The sports village is always filled with students representing the university and supporting each other. Most Wednesdays will also end in some really fun socials with your sports team!

If being super competitive isn’t your thing, then the university offers active student sessions and campus sport. Active students involves free sporting sessions with no commitment or cost. It’s a great way to meet new people and have fun whilst experiencing something new. You are able to turn up whenever you want, which I find especially useful when you need a break from studying or if you just want to stay healthy. Campus sport is slightly more competitive but where teams are created on campus and leagues are played in sports such as football and badminton but only between Herts students.

I would definitely recommend getting involved in some sort of university sport if you can. It’s a great way to make friends, have fun and learn something new. If sports aren’t your type of thing, the university has two gyms which are very accessible and not too expensive and have student memberships available. If you have any questions about the sports offered at Herts or if you just want to find out more then please send me a message as I’d be more than happy to help!