51±¾É«

Muhammad Nasir graduated from the Bachelor of Engineering in Aeronautical Engineering programme at 51±¾É« in 2023.

Now working with Lufthansa Technik Turbine in Shannon (LTTS) as a Graduate Engineer. We caught up with Muhammad to ask about the course, his time at UL, and any advice he might have for Leaving Certificate students.

Why did you choose to do BEng in Aeronautical Engineering at UL?

My dad spent most of his career as an expatriate in the Middle East, working as a gas turbine engineer for oil and gas companies. Although he rarely talked about his work, our home was often filled with the scrap parts and diagrams he brought back. As a kid, being exposed to these things and traveling to different countries cultivated my love for anything engineering and got me into aeronautics—My dad at one point worked at an offshore refinery and as an engineer would helicopter to work for weeks at a time. One of my favourite childhood memories is standing outside an airport with my mum, eagerly watching the helicopters taxi into its hangers as we waited for my dad to return.

When it came time for me to choose a college, I somehow landed on Ireland, and I couldn’t be happier with that choice. The 51±¾É« (UL) caught my attention because it offered a highly respected aeronautical degree, something I was eager to pursue. What really sealed the deal for me was UL’s strong academic connections with Cranfield University and TU Delft, as well as its ties to industry leaders like Lufthansa Technik and Boeing. I knew these connections would open up amazing career opportunities for me. Plus, the beautiful green campus and the Shannon River running through it made UL feel like the perfect place to spend my university years.

What did you enjoy most about the course?

One of the most rewarding aspects of the course was undoubtedly the sense of community among like-minded, ambitious peers whom I met throughout my time in the course. As the course specialised in aeronautics, especially leading up to third year, I found myself surrounded more and more by lecturers who were not only ambitious in their own fields but also deeply knowledgeable in their areas of teaching. I owe much of my academic growth to exceptional mentors like Dr Kyriakos Kourousis, whose guidance in academic research proved invaluable, and later served as my supervisor for the final year project. Dr Trevor Young's extensive knowledge in the theory of flight or anything aviation for that matter. The Cranfield flight lab where the class got into a real-life aircraft and collected real data while performing aerial manoeuvres had to be the highlight of the course and something I will never forget.

What did you enjoy about UL and what is student life like here?

My most cherished years at UL were undoubtedly those spent as a member of the UL Rowing Club, where I met my closest friends to this day and became part of a broader community of rowers across the country. The club's president once remarked that college is perhaps the only time you can commit to training like a full-time athlete, and that became my reality in my last two years at UL. Our training programme became relentless with two sessions a day on weekdays and three on Saturdays. While many might find it difficult to understand why anyone would voluntarily do nothing but train, to me, there was no better feeling than doing it with the best people I know, all sharing the same ambition.

Where did you complete your Cooperative Education Experience?

I worked for an aircraft leasing consulting company in Dublin, Santos Dumont (SD). During the middle of Covid in 2022 I made the decision to take a leave of absence and stay with SD for an additional 12 months, an opportunity I was privileged to have, and a reflection of my value to the company. I was fortunate enough to have a manager whom I considered to be one of my first mentors, Kevin Coen. Through his leadership, for 18 months I experienced the commercial side of aviation in aircraft leasing.

Can you update us on your career, does it still hold relevance to what you would have studied in UL?

I am currently a Graduate Engineer in Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon (LTTS). LTTS is part of the Lufthansa Group under Lufthansa Technik, a multinational web of companies focused on aircraft repair and maintaining safety in aviation. The graduate programme that I am in is accredited by Engineers Ireland. It involves rotating into different roles within the Engineering Department. As part of the Engineering Department, my role can range from supporting the operations of repair production, to developing/introducing a repair process for either existing or new aircraft jet engine parts.

What advice would you give to school leavers considering the next step in their career journey?

Being the son of an engineer people may assume that I would follow a similar path. However, during primary and even at secondary school I never excelled at subjects like maths or physics. In fact, I really struggled with maths, at one point struggling to get above 60%. Yet despite this, my interest in engineering overcame my struggles in those subjects, and I learned to love those subjects by practice. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do what I loved to do if I didn’t get good at those subjects. My advice is don’t let what you can’t do now determine your career choice in the future. People assume that Engineering is just a profession, but to me it is bigger than that, it’s who I am and how I see the world.