The Virtual Engineering Centre expands digital talent pool

08 January, 2020

Alan Everett (pictured), who has a particular interest in condensed matter physics, completed two consecutive summer placements at the VEC and now, having graduated from the University of Liverpool with a 1st in BSc Physics, he has been appointed as the VEC’s first ever graduate intern and will work alongside the visualisation team to develop his coding, modelling and commercial software skills.

Offering support and placement opportunities to a variety of students ranging from GCSE to postgraduate level, the VEC inspires young scientists from the Liverpool City Region and beyond by encouraging their ideas, research and opinions on the application of digital toolsets.

Every summer the VEC offers students the opportunity to join its team and work with digital experts on different cross-sector projects, allowing them to develop their knowledge in a number of areas, including programming robotics assets, using artificial intelligence (AI) in predictive modelling and discovering how immersive visualisation can support product design.

Confidence

Everett said: “Having completed two summers at the VEC I’m thrilled to be joining the team full time. The advantage of working at the VEC is that every new project brings a new challenge. I have quickly gained knowledge in many areas ranging from nuclear reactors to robotics. My computer coding and general digital skills have improved immeasurably but what I value the most is the confidence I have gained in being able to work with the team to solve industry problems.”

Lynn Dwyer, head of commercial for the VEC, said: “It’s important to us to offer placement opportunities to young engineers with emerging talent, as the experience is integral to developing digital skills required by today’s businesses. Our summer placement initiative has been so successful that we’re now looking to develop additional programmes.’’