Alejandra Francisco – Manchester, Aerospace and Youtube

Meet MACE Student experience Women in engineering 15th November 2021

Alejandra has only been at The University of Manchester for just over a year but is already making a big impression on our department. Passionate about promoting engineering subjects to younger female students, she has a prominent role in our societies and also created her own student youtuber channel. We caught up with her to find out more and what she hopes to achieve through her Aerospace Engineering degree…

-Hi Alejandra thanks for joining us on the blog! So you’re now studying in your second year on the Aerospace Engineering Course, what made you choose the subject and Manchester in the first place?

Hi there! I chose Manchester because of the general environment really, both in terms of academic reputation and because of the social aspects in the department and the city. From the course website I found that some of my modules in Aerospace are shared with other relevant engineering students such as those studying Mechanical and Civil Engineering. This was important to me as it clearly reflects how the engineering field works – a lot of collaboration with people from the same field with different specialities. I’ve really enjoyed this part so far, as I’ve managed to make friends from different engineering courses and it is always interesting to see how each specialisation is somewhat similar but different to my own.

-How have the last couple of years been, adapting to learning from home and now returning fully to campus?

Throughout the pandemic studying from home was not as bad as I expected it to be. Whilst engineering is a very ‘hands-on’ degree, the university managed to provide students with online platforms that facilitated us to get the relevant experience and knowledge from various assignments. A personal favourite of mine was a module in first year where we utilised a software called ‘Unity’ to design both a rocket and an aircraft wing. I always wondered how engineers went from sketching their designs on paper to actually making a digital version with a more realistic look – with this course I got to do it!

With that being said, I am very excited to be back on campus. One of the greatest things about the university is the atmosphere it has. The staff and students alike really add to the buzzing and exhilarating atmosphere, which is always nice to be in. Another appealing thing about being back on campus is the new engineering building MECD (Manchester
Engineering Campus Development).

Comprising four main buildings, this new addition to campus really makes the university stand out compared to others as it is the largest construction project undertaken by any UK higher education institution.

“I am very excited to be back on campus. One of the greatest things
about the university is the atmosphere it has.”

Not only does it provide world class facilities for engineering students, but also allows the staff to deliver knowledge in many innovative ways, which is the main purpose of the blended learning approach we have this year.

Fantastic! What are your plans for what you might do after you graduate, have you thought that far ahead yet?

Yes! I am hoping that through my degree I will be able to go into the aerospace industry and hopefully contribute to any useful projects, no matter how big or small. I am leaning more into the space related aspects of my degree rather than the aeronautics, however I think it is very important to keep your options open.

Although I do have my preferred topics, I like to be aware of the other options I have and I believe one can achieve so by joining societies and clubs. AeroSoc is a very good society for anyone interested in hearing from alumni talk about their career paths, I am actually the General Secretary this year and I cannot wait to plan fun and relevant events for everyone.

Aerospace is and has always been a growing industry, with the rapid advancement of technology – there is always something going on! So I am not exactly sure where I will end up, but with the skills and knowledge I have been accumulating and developing so far, I am certain about an exciting career ahead!

Tell us about your own youtube channel – what motivated you to set this up?

Having a youtube channel was always at the back of my mind. I was always a big fan of those so called ‘study youtubers’ that showed their own educational journey. The aim of my channel called ‘DefenderOfMankind’ is to portray an accurate representation of the life of an Aerospace Engineering student and to hopefully inspire others to pursue a STEM degree, especially fellow female students as I know it can be intimidating to be in a male dominated field. I am still trying to experiment and find my flair so it’s a work in progress as I learn – but please do look forward to the exciting videos I am planning ahead.

Also if you recognise me on campus (which one of you already did) please do not hesitate to say hi and have a chat with me 🙂

Thanks for reading this blog post if you have any questions feel free to drop Alejandra an email at:
ac20.francisco@gmail.com or follow her on instagram: alejcf

aeroscoaerospaceAerospace Engineeringalumniblended learningcampusCivileducationeducational youtubeEngineeringfaculty of science and engineeringgraduatejobslifeMACEmanchestermecdmechanicalsocietiesstudentstudent societiesstudentlifestudyugundergraduateUniversity of manchester