Marco Diliberto, Belling Engineering Scholarship 2007 winner
IET member Marco Diliberto was awarded a Belling Engineering Scholarship in 2007. Here he talks about his career aspirations and what being an IET member means to him…
Marco’s academic interests have always been in mathematics and physics so engineering was an obvious combination of the two that also incorporates a practical aspect. Initially, he was set on studying mathematics as a degree but after attending a number of engineering ‘taster’ courses, he realised that he was more interested in solving mathematical problems in order to obtain an application for use in the real world.
“An integral part of engineering is the process of designing, building and testing, which I was given the opportunity to experience as part of a Nuffield Bursary four-week mentored project. My interest in the subject was reaffirmed and it inspired me to want to pursue a further education in engineering,” he explains.
Becoming an IET member when at the stage of looking to choose a future degree and career, Marco has found his membership is rewarding and helpful, both to himself and the engineering industry as a whole.
“I think that the IET is an important organisation for ensuring that interest in engineering lives long and strong, especially for students seeking a vocation in life. Being a member has undoubtedly helped me to reach the stage in my education that I am at now. It was because of my IET membership that their advertising in the newspaper for the Ambition Awards caught my eye and their various publications and magazines are a font of information for the latest developments in the engineering world,” he highlights.
“I benefit most from the IET’s magazines, which always contain several articles to catch my eye and inform in such an accessible manner.”
As he mentioned, Marco noticed an advert for the IET’s Ambition Awards in a national paper, and decided to delve deeper.
Heading to the website he looked into the Awards in more details and was very excited to see the huge opportunities that these scholarships were offering, both financially and for the prestige of being an IET Scholar. He decided to apply because the benefits were obviously huge and felt that he had nothing to lose by submitting an application, how very true!
Marco found out later that he was awarded the Belling Engineering Scholarship, an award with a value of £3,000 per annum which is tenable for the duration of the accredited BEng or MEng degree course.
“It was such a wonderful surprise to find out that I had been awarded the Belling Scholarship, having gone for the interview and put any thoughts or hopes of the scholarship scheme to the back of my mind. As well as feeling grateful for the financial benefits, I did and still do feel a great sense of responsibility to make the most of this prestigious award.”
Looking forward, Marco intends to make the most of his award and IET membership alike. After finishing education he has already made the decision to start working towards Chartership, where he will garner further support and benefits from his membership.
“I would definitely recommend IET membership to any student interested in engineering mainly because of the huge opportunities that it presents,” he enthuses. “It bridges the gap between private academic work and the public eye and really unites the engineering community in a way that can only be of benefit to its members. Personally, I am ever so grateful to the IET for the scholarship. It relieves a huge financial burden and gives me the best possible start for a long and successful career in engineering.”
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