Naomi Duru, Fourth Year Undergraduate
Naomi Duru is a fourth year undergraduate in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
She says chose to study Chemical Engineering because though she enjoyed Chemistry during her A-Levels, she wanted to explore more practical applications in this field. By doing some research around Chemistry-related degrees she came across this career and the job description appealed to her.
“I quickly found that a chemical engineering degree can put you in a wide variety of jobs post-University, and since I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated, this option gave me more time to find the right career without closing too many doors to other career fields.”
When researching universities, she looked at the highest-ranking UK institutions and found that Imperial College London was consistently near the top of the league tables for Chemical Engineering.
“I wanted to go to a university in London in order to be a part of the wide diversity and lively atmosphere in the city, so Imperial was really the best of both worlds for me,” she said.
Naomi says the opportunities available in the department are unparalleled.
“I recently returned from a year abroad exchange program from the University of California, Berkeley, and that was honestly the best year of my Chemical Engineering degree so far. I met some amazing people whilst over in the US and had some experiences that never would have been available if I wasn’t at this university.”
Naomi has particularly enjoyed the Polymers and Chemical Process Design aspects of her Chemical Engineering degree so far.
“The former is the study of a material prevalent in nearly every aspect of our daily life and even our bodies; whilst the latter highlights common industry practices and generates the most efficient methods for creating virtually any product,” she explained.
As a final year student, Naomi is thinking about her future career options.
“I’m currently drawn to the Consulting Sector, due to the large variability in sectors to work in (for example Engineering, Healthcare, Transportation or even Retail Sectors, to name a few). A job in Chemical Engineering is also something I find appealing, as it would be very rewarding to directly apply my degree to my career. “
Naomi says that employing more professors and teaching staff of colour within the department would be a good start to improving academia.
“I believe providing summer programmes, and increased outreach to schools of predominantly minority groups, is a crucial way to improve the incredibly low percentage of black students within the Chemical Engineering Department.”