USMC student is TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year finalist
MECHANICAL Engineering student, Ryan K Prasad, was a finalist in the TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards 2017. Ryan is currently in his third year at Southampton, having spent the first two years at the University of Southampton Malaysia Campus.
‘‘I never thought I would get as far as I did,’’ reckoned Ryan Prasad, a Year 3 Mechanical engineering student, who recently became the finalist of TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year. Ryan received the Deutsche Bank sponsored prize during an awards ceremony held at London’s Canary Wharf in April.
As part of his prize, Ryan will havea nine-week fully paid summer internship with Deutsche Bank’s technology division including a visit to one of the organisation’s innovation labs. Ryan describes his journey to success as challenging yet very engaging.
‘‘I was tasked to solve reallife problems with practical solutions from either a financial or technical viewpoint. As an engineering student, I took the technical route. I designed a programme for a specific function within 30 minutes as well as undergo a business acumen interview which tested my understanding of how business and finance play a role in modern technology. Throughout the process, I became reflective as well, delving deeper into past events and student life experiences to solve these challenges that the banking industry experiences.’’
In hindsight, Ryan is happy to have reached this far as this was his first attempt to join a competition of such calibre.
The competition attracted nearly 3,500 applicants from all across the UK, and Ryan was one of the seven finalists in the Innovation Category.
‘‘Being a finalist has given me valuable experience in tackling interviews, solving problems outside my field of specialisation, brushing up my communication skills, and broadening my horizon. I would definitely encourage my fellow students to go for it, it is a great opportunity to hone their skills, prepare them for life beyond campus, and build confidence in themselves.’’
He added that joining this competition enabled him to make new friends, fellow university students of various disciplines from universities all around the UK.
The TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year Innovation Category aims to discover undergraduate students who have a passion for digital innovation. During the competition, Ryan demonstrated how innovation could help shape software development and the value of creativity and critical thinking in a business environment.