Hazim Namik Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog! In today’s post, I have a special treat lined up—an exclusive interview with the lecturer many of you adore from the memorable (for better or worse) Part I course, ENGGEN121. Fun fact: if you were all ears during his inaugural ENGGEN121 lecture, you’d recall that he’s an alumnus of UoA, having majored in mechatronics engineering. Beyond that, he plays a pivotal role in shaping the mechatronics pathway, teaching many courses throughout Parts II and III. Now, without keeping you waiting any longer, let’s delve into our conversation! Q &am ..read more

Hey guys! Welcome back to another blog where I will be going over some general tips for finding internships but I will also be providing some specific insights for mechatronics students. A few words before I get into the finding internship stuff, as a required part of your degree you must complete 800 hours of practical work. This usually means you would need to spend two summers doing internships! So if you are not aware of that before now is a good time to keep internships on the back of your mind as you move onto second year. Another note is that finding a internship in second year can be v ..read more

Welcome back to another blog! In this blog I will be going over the much anticipated course reviews – semester two edition of course. Overview Let me get this out of the way first, in terms of workload I don’t think semester two is significantly easier compared to semester one BUT it is definitely the more enjoyable semester for me. This semester like last semester we still share a lot of courses with the mechanical people but we do have our first difference in courses – mechatronics like I have mentioned in a previous blog with do MECHENG270 which I will go into more detail later but mechanic ..read more

Hey guys, in this blog I will be going over some of the activities and programs you can participate in so keep your eyes peeled for them next year! Case Competitions Although case competitions are not as popular among engineering students, they are an excellent way to further develop your critical thinking skills and apply the knowledge you’ve gained in lectures to real business problems. These competitions often require some understanding of financial markets, current business trends, and various other commerce-related topics. However, they are certainly manageable even if you have no prior k ..read more

Hope everyone is having a great semester so far. Can you believe we are already at the end of week 4? As we all try to get our heads around this engineering gig, I bet some courses have got you scratching your head, and maybe you are wondering what happens in the second year. So, guess what? We’re diving straight into some course reviews. ENGSCI 211 : Math Modelling II This course, essentially a Part II version of MM1, has already been covered by many bloggers, so I’ll keep my thoughts concise. Compared to MM1 this course felt more “mathy” there were more topics where algebra skills were more ..read more

And here we are! The last post of 2022, and I’m officially halfway through my degree! It’s fair to say this year hasn’t been all rainbows and butterflies, but it’s been one hell of a ride.  Because I have no idea what to talk about, here’s a few life/uni tips from a dummy (me!) that I would give to a younger dummy (younger me!) who’s learnt a lot in the past couple of years: Caffeine is not a substitute for sleep! I do thoroughly enjoy chugging my morning, afternoon and evening coffees, but it’s most effective in conjunction with proper rest. Sure, you can go a day or two without – but i ..read more

Because I procrastinated writing these blog posts (totally not posting three times in one day), you now get to deal with a post-exam Sarina who’s already a month into her internship. Lucky you! I’m currently a Systems Engineering Intern at Beca as part of the Beca Applied Technologies, commonly abbreviated as BAT. They’ve kinda taken the Batman symbol and made it their own. (To be fair, they could probably make the Batmobile if they tried.)   So, what is Systems Engineering? Although systems engineering can be pursued by all sorts of engineers, quite a few with a background in mechatroni ..read more

Hey hey! We’re back at it again, and today we’ll be breaking down the sem 2 courses. Let’s hop right into it! ENGGEN 204: Professional Skills and Communication This paper is taken by all Part II students, meaning you’ll be thrown into a group with people from different specs. It consists of a combination of group projects and individual tests, so if you came to engineering to avoid socialising, too bad! In all seriousness, the skills you develop from this course are essential to all engineers, regardless of where you land up.  Advice? Aim to finish projects early. It can be difficult to c ..read more

Well hey there! Are you surviving? I hope so! If not, I’m sending hugs and good vibes through the screen :DD And as promised, a breakdown of the semester 1 courses, in all their glory!  MECHENG 201: Introduction to Mechatronics Do you love Hazim with all your heart? I’m glad you do, because there’s never a dull moment with him in this course! Because we started semester one online, we randomly joined breakout rooms and awkwardly interacted with the person who would now be our partner for the rest of the semester. I took the initiative to message a fellow girl whose name I recognised from ..read more

Kia ora koutou and hello! I extend my greetings to you all, regardless of whether you’re already pretty dead set on mechatronics, to those of you who still have absolutely no clue what to pick and are hoping sem 2 will give you a better idea, cheeky Part II’s from some crazy year in the future (2023? 2024?!) snagging some tips and tricks for the upcoming sem, or to those who were in the same boat as me a year ago: mechanical or mechatronics?? Who am I? I’m a typical Part II engineering student: sleep deprived, head deep in extra curriculars, trying to balance being healthy and not broke, and m ..read more