Digital Manufacturing Course Puts Eva on Track for Uni

SERC Bangor Campus Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Digital Manufacturing (Computer Engineering) student Eva Rainey (17), from Dundonald, is studying towards her goal of going to university.  

After completing her GCSEs at Bloomfield Collegiate School in Belfast, Eva felt that A-Levels were not the right pathway for her. After doing research online and attending a SERC open day, she decided that SERC had a more specific pathway in what she wanted to study, and studying at the college would be her next step.  

On her course, Eva comments, “I like the practicality of my course a lot, especially working with the machines and building circuits. I also like the programming element of it – I’m all for anything to do with computers. One aspect of the course involves coding microcontrollers, which are small computers on a microchip that can perform simple tasks. We also learn a lot about computer systems and networks too, as well as all the different parts that make a computer work. Pneumatics and hydraulics were part of the first year of the course too, which was interesting to learn about.  

On what she wants to do after her course, Eva comments, “I would like to go on to university to study artificial intelligence or system software engineering and potentially take on a PHD.  

Eva concludes, “I would definitely recommend SERC to others. Coming to SERC was one of the best decisions I ever made; in my experience SERC is a lot easier to learn in, you get great support from tutors and other departments for things like finances and mental health, and I have been made aware of a lot more pathways and opportunities available to me than I would have known before. It feels like I’m making my own decisions about my education and that I’m in control of it, instead of someone else making those decisions about my education for me.” 

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