Orla Nimmo

Why did you decide to study at the University of Edinburgh, and why did you choose to study engineering?

I’ve always wanted to have an international career so to provide myself with the right credentials, I thought it would be beneficial to go to a university that is renowned worldwide. The University of Edinburgh is one of the top universities so I knew that having a degree from there would set me up for success.

I enjoyed maths and science in high school, but I was looking for something more tangible and practical, so engineering made sense!

How did you get to where you are now?

I completed a few internships across a variety of sectors whilst at university. Two internships were at distilleries, making gin and whisky, which was really enjoyable as I could use engineering skills in a creative environment. I think there are a lot of unhelpful stereotypes within engineering so when I first chose to study chemical engineering, I definitely didn’t think it could lead to such interesting opportunities like creating new gins and whiskies. Also, I completed my industrial placement with Dow Chemical Company which was the basis of my thesis on reliability engineering and gave me an invaluable insight into how a manufacturing site operated. These opportunities to work across a range of industries made me realise how much I enjoyed and learned from the variety of different experiences in such a short amount of time which is why I was attracted to a career in consulting. I also wanted to keep my future career progression wide open when leaving university and consulting gave me that variation whilst allowing me to help companies solve their biggest challenges and make a real impact.

I’ve been with my current company, Accenture, for nearly three years. I’ve been able to work with large corporations on projects such as the construction of a nuclear new build facility and developing a robust digital core for an energy company. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with smaller non-profit organisations such as the Net Zero Technology Centre in Aberdeen and the World Economic Forum. It’s such a varied role so there really is no typical ‘day in the life’ but activities I’ll frequently engage in include researching challenges and opportunities for clients, hosting workshops or interviews to understand the root cause of the client’s challenges to enable the most effective solution to be implemented. Studying engineering and the opportunities it has given me, allowed me to develop core transferable skills such as problem solving and critical thinking, and provided an overall insight into the industry which has been super helpful.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

It’s difficult to pick just one moment. I’ve really enjoyed aspects of all the roles I’ve had and projects I’ve worked on so far. I particularly enjoy projects that have a strong focus on the energy transition as I see that as the biggest challenge of our generation so it’s exciting to be able to make a tangible impact.

What did you gain from your time at Edinburgh and were there any experiences which particularly helped prepare you for life after graduation?

Aside from the technical skills you develop, I think the way the course is taught is helpful for soft skills development. Many aspects of Engineering at Edinburgh are groupwork focussed – it’s very collaborative. You are gaining all of those interpersonal skills, for example, people management skills, which are vital for your future career, for working in a team, and working with clients.  

I’d also say the industrial placement that I did at Dow Chemical Company was invaluable. The focus was reliability engineering, determining the root cause of equipment failures so they could improve their site uptime and ultimately be more profitable. The fundamental problem-solving skills gained from this are directly applicable to what I do on a daily basis now and are core to work in consulting.

I attended the University of Edinburgh Careers Fairs where I had the chance to speak to representatives from a variety of different companies. I could explore different opportunities for internships and for my industrial placement, and also understand the day-to-day work that these roles offered. I also went to a careers dinner where I met alumni working in industry which was insightful as many engineering-based companies are B2B (business to business) so, as a consumer, you don’t see them in your everyday life. Being able to make industry connections was incredibly helpful.

I regularly work with engineers in my current role therefore my degree background allows me to understand the context of the problems I am trying to solve.  In second year, we were able to take part in site visits. I had the opportunity to visit a nuclear facility and, later in my career, I worked on a nuclear new build facility project. Having this experience during university was valuable to my later career.

Do you have a favourite memory of your time at university?

Yes! I have two…

The first is the Frank Morton Sports Day – where Chemical Engineering students across the UK get together in one city, with a host university. Every sport you could imagine is available to you. It was a fun way to meet people from different universities but also build close connections with your classmates. The people I studied Engineering with at Edinburgh are still my best friends to this day.

I'd say the second highlight would be the exchange that the university set up with Harbin Engineering University in China. We primarily focussed on automation but took part in a range of classes across engineering disciplines. It was also a unique opportunity to experience the culture in China from language and cooking classes to socialising with the students studying there.

What advice would you give to future students who are considering studying engineering at Edinburgh?

Do it! There is such a range of careers you can access within engineering alone, but you also develop fundamental skills that are so transferable to a wide range of different careers outside engineering. A 2018 Harvard Business Review study stated that over 30% of the top-performing CEOs have an engineering degree so it’s clear it’s a degree valued by employers that can open doors to many interesting career opportunities.