Powering Up
Alex Sharman graduated from Loughborough University in 2009 with an MEng in Electronic and Electrical Engineering, and joined the National Grid graduate development programme. He told us what he’s up to now.
"As part of the National Grid graduate scheme I was selected to work in the Construction side of the business, and undertook three roles during the 18 month programme. Two of the roles were within construction, with the third in a different area of the business in order to gain experience of the company as a whole.
"My first role was as a development engineer, effectively project managing the design and development stage of large substation projects. My second placement was a chance to broaden outside of construction into the wider business, which involved choosing a position in Asset Investment. As part of this role I took up the role of Investment Team Leader which involved securing internal finance for multi-million pound projects, and also become involved in determining replacement strategies for specific items of plant.
"The final placement, which I have taken on as my permanent role, was within Electricity Technical Assurance. This area of the business is responsible for ensuring all construction activities, from design to commissioning, and is undertaken in line with National Grid’s policies and procedures. Within this department my specific focus was, and now is, on protection and control equipment.
"Protection and control is certainly a good field to be in, all the basics of fault calculations and symmetrical components along with practical application. It uses and extends the content of the Machines and Systems Transients module in Part D, with more specific application and more of the relay functionalities associated with numerical protection.
"The role I’m in with Design Assurance is also particularly good, taking into account system design along with commissioning practices and wider knowledge of the transmission system as a whole. All my colleagues across the business keep telling me what a good decision I’ve made, so obviously a right choice! I’ve also enrolled on a distance learning course called Power System Protection - just getting started and university notes have already come in useful for fault calculations!
"The 5 years spent at Loughborough has definitely been of great benefit throughout the graduate programme, and will undoubtedly continue throughout my career. Along with the technical understanding, various projects throughout the degree helped bridge the gap between academia and industry. The environment of Loughborough both educationally and socially has certainly had the greatest impact personally, for me. Loughborough was the best place to develop as an individual and feel that the whole Loughborough experience has allowed me to become well rounded and ready to seize any opportunities."