Meet 5th year engineering student Shaw an all-rounder who has managed to pack a lot into his time at ANU.

“Engineering is an extremely broad discipline that applies scientific knowledge to invent and design things. It’s an exciting opportunity to be innovative and be creative with the solutions to extremely complex problems as there are really no boundaries.”

“I chose ANU over other universities because ANU has an excellent engineering and Asia-Pacific studies department with an international profile. I was lucky to attend a world-class university in my home town.”

“I chose my degree because I had a strong interest in learning how things work and working in teams to solve complex problems. I always enjoyed science and maths at school, I found myself enjoying the technical problems fundamental to engineering and gradually discovered engineering as a satisfying discipline to consider.”

“My interest in engineering was really ignited when I travelled overseas on my gap year after yr12. I remember being amazed by the architecture and technology in Europe and Japan and wanting to know how it was all possible. I love that with engineering I’m always discovering new things and solving real world problems.”

“My advice to prospective students considering the ANU is to come with an open mind and expect the unexpected. ANU is full of surprises and opportunities. It’s really a time when you discover new passions and interests, and my advice would be to explore them. I never thought I’d enjoy writing essays or learning to code.”

“The engineering degree is an honours program, so every student is expected to work with academics during their final year on a research project. This is a great opportunity to work with leading academics on a topic of your choice.”

“The systems engineering degree was attractive to me as I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to specialise in at first, I was able to study several different disciplines within engineering before deciding what I wanted to specialise in. This also gave me a deeper understanding of the core concepts within engineering and to be able to take a holistic approach to solving technical problems.”

“Systems engineering trains you to look at the wider picture of a problem and break it down into smaller components, making the initial problem simpler. The systematic and logical approach to problem solving that is required in systems engineering can be applied to wired range of problems. No matter what career I choose, I strongly believe that systems engineering will be useful.”

“For student friendly prices you can’t go past Burmese Curry House, Yarralumla Pide House and Brodburger, I always miss the coffee when I leave Canberra so one thingto definitely do is to check out the various cafes around the city. Lonsdale St is a good start.”

“Buy a bicycle as the city is cyclist-friendly, and if you are looking for a share house then look at the inner north. Everything you need is accessible on a bike. Though in Spring watch out for swooping magpie birds.”

“Canberra is also full of nice bushland and outdoor fun. The O’Connor ridge, Black Mountain, and arboretum all have nice walks with great views of Canberra and plenty of wildlife. I can recommend a walk up Mt Ainslie which is a great thing to do to experience Canberra’s bush and a get a great view of Canberra. I know its cliché but I would recommend a trip to Parliament House and the National Gallery of Australia.”