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Karthik studied Software Systems Engineering MSc at UCL Computer Science and now works at Cisco as an intern.
1) What’s your background?
I studied my Bachelors degree in Engineering, majoring in Computer Science at RV College of Engineering in Bengaluru, India. After this, I worked for a year at Boeing as a Software Engineer before choosing to study a Masters degree at UCL.
2) Why did you choose to study Computer Science at UCL?
The practical aspects of the degree attracted me to UCL. The coursework was reasonably practical and was very true to what the industry represents. I did not want to go too deep into research, which is why I was happy with choosing this course for its practicality.
3) What were the highlights of your CS programme?
My highlights from my CS programme were the times where I would get my hands dirty with designing and developing beautiful software as part of my coursework, for clients who have been in the industry for a long period of time.
I worked on an app with someone who had worked at Microsoft for 20 years. After this, I worked with Cisco on a project. All this valuable industry experience was great.
4) What were the highlights of your time generally at UCL?
I love the social aspect of UCL. There are great bars, fun clubs and lovely people to hang out with. I have made friends who I will stay in touch with for life and that means a lot to me. Even after 5 years, I am sure I will come down to the Institute of Education bar for the memories that I have had there.
London is beautiful and I could never get bored of the city. If you are ever bored in your house, all you need to do is to go outside and take a walk, something is always happening and I love that.
5) What industry and career opportunities did you get access to on your programme?
I worked with a few people in industry due to one of my modules, specifically for the coursework and one of them was an internship with Cisco. I loved my experience there and along with that, there were a lot of career fairs, great speakers and the careers website which were helpful. It was useful as it helped me obtain a job in the industry.
6) What did you write your dissertation on?
I wrote my dissertation as a group project from my work at Cisco. It was about a simulation framework that my team developed to perform realistic simulation testing of a library in Cisco Webex’s back-end.
The team really delved into networking and it was super fun.
7) How did you manage your workload, and what advice would you give to prospective students in terms of being successful and making the most of the opportunities at UCL?
I managed my workload by being consistent with a schedule, although there were times where it was more stressful. The staff were always supportive and offered great advice on how we should be organising our work. I would say that dividing time as advised by Faculty from the beginning is very effective to make the most of being at UCL.
8) If you were an international student, how easy was it to settle in? How did you find studying in the UK?
London is a great place to settle in. Most people are accepting and warm due to how metropolitan the city is. UCL was even nicer to settle into, and the events in the welcome week helped a lot to be less of a stranger.
I joined the Pokemon Society and TfL society, which were quite fun to be in. London is a great city for an international student.
9) Where are you working now, and what are your career goals? How did your programme help you achieve this?
I am currently interning at Cisco as part of the UCL project. I eventually want to work in the software industry as a Full Stack Developer. My programme gave me a better understanding on software design and testing. The industry networking from my programme’s coursework did provide help with this.
10) Why would you recommend this course?
One of the reasons I would recommend this course is due to the sheer practicality of it. My fellow students are also quite interested in it, which makes for a great classroom experience.
London is a great place to study Software Systems Engineering due to the number of startups that want those particular skills in someone. The coursework is amazing and I loved the degree.