A Scottish gap year student, Ross Gardiner, has been acclaimed as a “Future Industry Leader” at an awards ceremony in London thanks to his recent work placement with Leonardo, a global high-tech company and one of the key players in the Aerospace, Defence and Security sectors.

Ross was winner of the IET Innovation Award, given for the work placement project which is judged to be the most innovative out of all the projects undertaken by students undertaking The Year in Industry, the well-known work placement programme run by charity EDT (the Engineering Development Trust). The Future Industry Leaders Awards were held at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London last week and Ross won his award after an assessment of nine finalists by expert judges following submission of project reports, presentations, and intensive questioning by the judges.

Ross’s high quality project involving the development of software for simulating a specialised radar imaging mode called Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). By performing simulated flight trials on digital representations of the Earth, Ross’s software is able to produce images which bear a striking resemblance to those collected on actual flight trials.

Ross has found his introduction to a commercial role in technology very stimulating, saying, “Coming straight from school into a commercial environment was a steep learning curve but I soon discovered that tenacity is an essential trait in the workplace. I have successfully transitioned from my basic understanding of physics to being capable of engaging in technical conversations about radar. This has enabled me to complete a project that has generated significant research interest in the company and a plan has been put in place for another ‘Year in Industry’ student to build on what I have done next year.”
 
The complexity of Ross’s project cannot be underestimated. Paul Rose, Ross’s mentor at Leonardo says, “There were times when I feared that the task that we had set Ross was impossibly complex, requiring a level of radar expertise and technical knowledge that it was entirely unreasonable to expect from a pre-university student. Ross, however, had other ideas and showed an ability to innovate and learn which was a privilege to observe. His problem solving capability was astonishing, sometimes finding entirely new sources of information and on other occasions using great communications skills to learn highly complex expertise from colleagues through establishing genuinely collaborative relationships. In the end some of the technical concepts he was handling were of a level that would appropriate to a PhD student.”
 
Ross found that as well as technical skills, the placement gave him an insight into the non-technical skills required to thrive in a commercial environment. “I really loved working on this project. It allowed me to learn some fantastic skills and channel my enthusiasm for computer science and engineering to produce something genuinely useful. The placement has also taught me how important non-technical skills can be in a successful working environment. In order to achieve my objectives, I had to employ effective communication skills to be able to learn from my colleagues and to understand teamwork and time and project management skills to ensure the success of my project.”
 
Chris Ward, National Director, The Year in Industry for EDT says, “Work placements are now the rule rather than the exception in engineering, science and business degrees, and increasingly as a pre-university gap year option. Many of the students from leading universities come to The Year in Industry looking for high quality placements. This gives employers the opportunity to access exceptional talent like Ross to tackle complex projects with fresh minds and innovative outlooks. We are always looking to work with companies to develop new placements for the many students that apply each year.”
 
Two other prizes were awarded to Year in Industry placement students at the Future Industry Leader Awards. Fahad Rage was awarded the Year in Industry Award for his work with Furrer+Frey, designers of overhead electrification solutions for the railway. Fahad’s project led him to design an an app which will significantly save time and money on Great Western Electrification Programme by ensuring planned equipment is compatible with the system being used to install overhead line structures.  Lizzie Garside was awarded the prize for Environmental Awareness for her placement with ECH Engineering Ltd, a company designing and building innovative refrigeration systems