Ryan Looks from SPACE Campus to Spacecraft and Beyond

Ryan Boyd, from Bangor, has set his sights on working with space technology after returning to learning as an adult.  

Ryan (40), is studying for a Foundation Degree in Industry 4.0 (validated by the Open University) at SERC’s SPACE Campus in Bangor, having taken a route through different work and education experiences since he was a teenager.  

He says “When I was at school, you took one of two routes through education, and if you were on the vocational route, you got day release to tech - so actually I was at SERC back then, in its previous incarnation, doing engineering.  I considered progressing in my studies, but I needed to earn money and as soon as I got offered a job in the engineering field I left to work as a CNC operator.  

“After that, I was in the forces for a while until I was medically discharged and decided I needed to retrain. I thought about the passion I always had for programming, realised getting paid for something you love to do is the ideal situation, and trained on the job in digital engineering.” 

Ryan was eventually headhunted by Deloitte and joined a group working on test automation. The company put him through training in programming and AI.  All this stimulated Ryan to learn more and achieve more:  

“I was writing code for robotic processing, and I wanted to move on to creating physical robots.  Industry 4.0 was just taking off, and I saw it as a brilliant opportunity to progress. I found that SERC was offering this course, and it is my local college – so it was back to my roots!” 

Ryan says he made a joke of it with his family, laughing about going off to school with his lunchbox like his children, and admits he felt a bit apprehensive as he started the course. He says, though, there was nothing to worry about: 

“SERC is a very mature environment, so it was actually an easy transition and even though I wondered about how I would fit in, or how my first assignment would be received, so far, it’s all good! I have to study harder at some elements which are less familiar, but that’s normal and the support at SERC is excellent - the staff are very responsive.” 

Now he is happily back in the classroom, Ryan is determined to push himself further. He says: “I do want to keep on studying and get a degree, then a masters in Spacecraft Engineering at Surrey University. My end goal is to have a sustainable business in North Down, stimulating a lot of different sectors and supporting tech start-ups. I am interested in space technology but in fact that has many possible applications, including the agriculture and maritime sectors.” 

Reflecting on his past and present experiences at SERC, Ryan says: “SPACE campus is brilliant, and it’s been refreshing to see how things have changed since I was at the North Down and Ards Institute in 1998 – the sausage rolls in the canteen are as good as ever, but the training facilities have definitely been updated to keep up with the times! 

“You get to train on the equipment that is used in industry, which is what employers want. In my experience in the workplace, that has been a big pain point in the past. But at SERC, we have CNCs, laser cutters, 3D printers and so on. The course is very versatile and covers mechatronics, the internet of things, programmable logic controllers - I would absolutely recommend SERC – I think it’s the best all-round course for modern industry.”