Highly Commended

Fourth year, BEng Electrical and Mechanical Engineering

I attended an international school in Madrid, Spain, where being dyslexic and having ADHD meant I struggled with essay-based subjects; alternatively, I developed my love for maths and physics.

I started programming in the open-source electronic prototyping platform Arduino from an early age, building a small self-drivable car that would change direction depending on the distance it was from an object. Since then, I developed more ambitious projects such as an alarm that could text your phone and call you.

Additionally, I'm a sports enthusiast, and during my school time, I have organised futsal tournaments and played football in a federated league.

My interest in engineering all began when I visited a remote farm in Galicia. I was astonished at how the farm functioned fully with barely any labour. As a result of automation, 200 cows were milked by several robots monitored from the farmer's house. His business saved money and became more efficient due to this technology designed by an engineer. My photo shows me alongside a Jersey cow which is being milked by the SAC milking robot.

My second encounter with engineering was when I visited my dad's factory where farming automation machinery is manufactured. I was thrilled by the "Ori-Collector", a machine which allows a farmer to collect a sample of milk from each cow that is milked by a milking robot. Automated sampling is a critical tool for the agricultural industry, as it helps quickly identify when cows are pregnant or have a disease, for example.

Learning about this device and the challenges of product development transformed my thinking. From that moment, designing and automating processes fascinated me.