College graduate presents dissertation at international conference

A LAKES College graduate has presented her ideas for innovation in nuclear at a major international conference.

Aisling Mattinson took to the stage at TELFOR 2022, an international telecommunications forum held in Belgrade, Serbia, to present her dissertation paper to an audience of industry experts.

The paper proposes a new wireless air monitoring system to replace the current nuclear infrastructure at sites across Cumbria.

Aisling, who is an electrical engineer at Jacobs, completed a BEng (Hons) Electrical Engineering degree at Lakes College.

She said: “I currently work on CE&I projects for a nuclear site and I wanted to propose a project which could potentially bring improvements to the site, specifically including CE&I and nuclear.

“My mentor Meftah Medawi contacted me to say that the paper had been accepted for publication and I had the opportunity to present my research paper at the 30th Telecommunications Forum (Telfor) in Belgrade.

“This was kindly funded by my company Jacobs and was an amazing experience and opportunity.

“Public speaking is my worst nightmare so I was extremely nervous in the build up to it; however, on the day my nerves went once I was in the room and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“The feeling after presenting was amazing.”

Aisling’s studies at Lakes College helped her to progress from her previous role as a CE&I designer.

She added: “I found the jump between the HNC/HND to the degree huge and there were elements of the course I really struggled with; however, the staff at the college went the extra mile to offer support throughout and always kept me motivated.

“Upon completion of my dissertation, my supervisor encouraged me to carry out further work and aim to produce a published paper.

“This work continued for a further 11 months and my tutor Meftah Medawi offered his support throughout as well as giving up a lot of his free time to assist me in my studies.

“This course provided me with knowledge but also confidence which has helped me in my career as I had to push myself out of my comfort zone – for example, presenting my dissertation and then paper.”

Paul Fairclough, dean of higher education at Lakes College, said: “I am delighted that Aisling, one of our undergraduate electrical engineering degree students, has had her hard work and the quality of her dissertation recognised by an international audience.

“This is also recognition of the quality of project work that is being undertaken at the National College for Nuclear at Lakes College.”

Mark Ritchie, waste and technology director at Jacobs, added: “At Jacobs we want our employees to feel they’re in ‘A world where you can’, so we are immensely proud of Aisling and her recent achievements.

“Aisling achieved a first in her degree at Lakes College and being selected to present her paper ‘Proposing a New Wireless Air Monitoring System to Replace the Current Nuclear Infrastructure – Whitehaven, UK” at the international Telecommunication TELFOR conference in Belgrade is great recognition so early in her career.

“We are looking forward to seeing what she can accomplish with us in the future.”