Daniel Gan
Nationality: Malaysian
Hometown: I grew up in Perak, a place know for its good food!
Studied: MEng Mechanical Engineering (2018 graduate)
What I enjoyed most about the University of Southampton: I liked how it emulated the UK lifestyle with its method of teaching and the general ambiance within the university.
Ambition during my studies: To develop realistic movie/game props during my free time as a hobby with the knowledge gained from studying Engineering.
Hemanth Iyappa Guddanda
Nationality: Indian
Hometown: I grew up in the ‘Garden City’ of Bangalore which is known for its great weather, nightlife and incredible music scene. I completed my schooling at Sishu Griha School and CMR – Pre University College.
Studied: MEng Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace (2017 graduate)
Ambition during my studies: To be the very best. Like no one ever was. On a more realistic note: I’ve always been interested in the integration of technology to everyday life in order to improve how daily activities are conducted. So in the (hopefully near) future, I saw myself working alongside dynamic people from diverse sectors of business and applying myself to develop methods that have a significant social impact. This, and I also had a secret ambition to be a hard rock / heavy metal guitar god. Let’s see!
Ho You Wei
Nationality: Malaysian
Hometown: I grew up in Johor Bahru, which is located at the southernmost part of Malaysia. I spent most of my childhood time in Kulai, a city which is approximately 25 kilometers from Johor Bahru.
Studied: BEng Mechanical Engineering (2018 graduate)
What I enjoyed about the University of Southampton: I enjoyed the world-class lectures delivered by lecturers from both Malaysia and the UK. Especially for the ‘flying-faculties’ lectures, they would always open you out to the new dynamic thinking possibilities. I am thankful to University of Southampton for offering the scholarship and the chance to meet new friends from different cultural and academic backgrounds.
Ambition during my studies: I am highly appreciative that University of Southampton provides 3rd year further specialization for mechanical engineering course. Because of that, my ambition as a conscientious alternative energy mechanical engineer has been very clear since I first stepped into the University of Southampton. With great responsibility, the world needs leading edge alternative energy technologies and I am confident to lead the industry in the very near future.
Iswar Nethi Karunanethi
Nationality: Malaysian
Hometown: I grew up in a lovely city called Ipoh in Malaysia. I spent all of my teenage years there. I did my A Levels in Kolej Yayasan UEM (KYUEM), a boarding college that has affiliations with several colleges in the UK.
Studied: MEng Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace (2017 graduate)
What I enjoyed about Southampton: Studying at the University of Southampton was very different from what I had initially imagined. Positively different. The campus is compact yet beautiful. There are in-campus bars, cinemas, cafes, convenient stores and a weekly farmers’ market; amazing if you ask me. Also, as a student who had to hop between buildings for different lectures, I genuinely appreciated how close campus buildings are to one another; a trait many universities do not have.
Ambition during my studies: I chose the aerospace theme in Year 3 of my course. Naturally, I wished to pursue a career in the domain of aerospace, the field of fluid-flow to be specific. Of course, these were only my current aspirations and I allowed space for myself to evolve and build interests in different fields as the months and years went by.
Vinura Jayewardene
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Hometown: Colombo – the commercial capital of Sri Lanka
Studied: MEng Mechanical Engineering (2019 graduate)
What I enjoyed most about University of Southampton: Apart from the credibility that is associated with University of Southampton, the quality of the degree and also the people associated with the university (from my classmates to lecturers to support staff) made my stay here a more memorable and better one.
Ambition during my studies: Even though there maybe changes in what is in store, an overview of what I have planned would be to hopefully graduate as a fully–fledged engineer and render useful service for my country in the future with my area of scope.
Aaron Leong
Nationality: Malaysian
Hometown: Proud to be born and bred in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Studied: MEng Mechanical Engineering (2017 graduate)
Ambition during my studies: I believe that great things happen to people who keep their minds open. During my studies, I had a variety of experiences: from research to consulting, and I had no intention to limit myself there. Who knows where I will end up. But whatever it is, I guarantee that it is going to be nothing less than stellar.
Muhammad Zubair Nazir 
Nationality: Malaysian
Hometown: Sungai Buloh for most parts, other than a small fraction of my teenage years spent living in London
Studied: MEng Mechanical Engineering (2017 graduate)
Ambition during my studies: I hoped to always accomplish with an element of fun, and to be doing something that I am passionate about. With Sustainable Energy Systems being my choice of Engineering theme, I hoped that with the knowledge I gained, I would contribute to society be it a small gesture. I may or may not be able to invent something phenomenal in the future, but my mission is to try my hardest to become known for someone who is the best at what he does.
Having the unique opportunity of studying at the University of Southampton and its Malaysia Campus (UoSM) allowed me to enjoy the best of both worlds. What I enjoyed most about UoSM was the small classes/cohorts, everyone knew each other by name and it wasn’t long before we could all talk to each other comfortably. You can almost say we were like a small family. Even most of the staff and lecturers knew us by name.
What I enjoyed about the UK was the abundance of activities on and off campus. They have various clubs and societies that organize weekly activities such that it’s difficult to choose! These activities range from uncanny activities such as Quidditch to popular sports such as football.
Ryan Prasad
Nationality: Malaysian
Hometown: I am a Johorean, born and raised. I grew up everywhere I went, scientifically speaking.
Studied: MEng Mechanical Engineering (2018 graduate)
What I enjoyed about University of Southampton: From a social standpoint, I enjoyed having close friends despite their tendencies to invite me out at the most ridiculous hours of the night. Academically, I mostly relished the laboratory sessions and Dr Jo Han’s classes.
Ambition during my studies: I would like to be able conduct research on a field of my interest, namely, renewable energy and related machinery. I also look forward to be able to design my own machines either to help people out or for the fun of it.
Tan Keat Jin
Nationality: Malaysian
Hometown: I was born and grew up in Subang Jaya for 13 years, a place where jams are abundant. So never leave the house without a loaf of bread! Since then I’ve been living in a place which lies on the border between Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Studied: MEng Mechanical Engineering (2019 graduate)
What I enjoyed most about University of Southampton: Having 24-hour access to the library, computer labs and lecture halls have been a blessing. Other than that, I’ve met some been pretty cool people here – lecturers, staff, students. It’s never a quiet day at UoSM. I’ve also learned to enjoy Prof. Neil’s life stories, Dr. Pu’s subtle jokes, Dr. Gan’s “this guy”, Prof. John McBride’s laugh and much more.
Ambition during my studies: It’s a grand one. World domination. I plan to save the Earth, or at least, work in that direction. I would like to take on renewable energy and make a ground-breaking discovery or invention that will change the future of mankind. I would also like to do research on recycling materials.
Read blog posts by Keat Jin
Shivank Sharma
Nationality: Indian
Hometown: I grew up in Mumbai, India. Being the financial, commercial and entertainment capital of India, Mumbai is the melting pot of diverse cultures from all over India. Nicknamed the ‘City of Dreams’, there is something so special and unique about Mumbai that there’s simply no other place quite like it!
Studied: MEng Electrical and Electronics Engineering (2018 graduate)
What I enjoyed about University of Southampton: Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Southampton is definitely challenging but the quality and the structure of the course really makes you go to the extra mile and come up with some impressive results that make the whole process worth it.
Ambition during my studies: To do something that involves a lot of Electrical Physics and Maths. Most likely, I would like to specialise in Nanotechnology next year and perhaps even do a PhD in it after graduating. However, at this point my aim is to just be better than I was yesterday! Sounds so simple yet so difficult, isn’t it?
Kai Hui Wu
Nationality: Malaysian
Hometown: I was born and raised in Petaling Jaya, a city in the state of Selangor. My parents are from Malacca and Johor, both I have grown to love from the frequent trips there to visit my grandparents.
Studied: MEng Mechanical Engineering with Mechatronics (2017 graduate)
What I enjoyed about Southampton: The things I enjoyed the most is the campus environment. The whole of Southampton seems to have been built around this university due to its high student population. Southampton city may not be as lively and exciting as London; as full of historical architectures as Bath or Oxford, but it is extremely pleasant to live in and exudes a charm that made it easy to fall in love with. Plus, it is very near to London if you ever miss the city’s hustle and bustle.
Ambition during my studies: I wished to become an R&D engineer after graduation and possibly pursue a PhD if there was the opportunity. I chose the mechatronics theme due to my immense interest in robotics-related fields, and intended to build on this passion of mine in the future.