Iwan Grech

The grant I received from the James Pantyfedwen Foundation was a massive help to me. Without the generous contribution from the Foundation I would have struggled to pay for my tuition and would have needed an additional large student loan and a part time job while studying.

The Masters course in Nuclear Energy at the University of Cambridge offers modules ranging from highly technical engineering and physics modules to safety and policy decision making modules. The course also included trips to nuclear plants in the UK which gave me an insight into future careers that were available to me thanks to the Masters course and the grant towards my tuition fees.

The course also gave me the opportunity to undertake a nuclear materials module and I undertook a materials based project for my thesis working with Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) as my industry partner. This experimental experience was my favourite part of the course and the skills learnt are transferable into a range of research areas and industries.

Conducting my project in materials science has now led to me undertaking a fully funded PhD in materials science which will involve the use of equipment I gained experience and expertise using during my Masters project.