Mechatronics Engineering Supercurriculars

Hey, I’m a UK Y12 student who is interested in doing a mechatronics engineering degree. Although I’m not certain exactly which UK university I would like to go to, I am aware that Supercurriculars are very important. However I cannot seem to find any advice or links specific to mechatronics. I understand that mechatronics is a mix of mechanical and electronics engineering. Would it be helpful to do Supercurriculars in both? Or are there any specific opportunities I could go for? I really would like to be able to demonstrate my passion through things outside of school and wondered if anyone had any advice or ideas. I also wondered which UK universities would be the best to study mechatronics at, since a lot of universities don’t really offer this course. I’m aware that I could also apply for robotics, but mechatronics is what I am much more interested in. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Hey, I’m a UK Y12 student who is interested in doing a mechatronics engineering degree. Although I’m not certain exactly which UK university I would like to go to, I am aware that Supercurriculars are very important. However I cannot seem to find any advice or links specific to mechatronics. I understand that mechatronics is a mix of mechanical and electronics engineering. Would it be helpful to do Supercurriculars in both? Or are there any specific opportunities I could go for? I really would like to be able to demonstrate my passion through things outside of school and wondered if anyone had any advice or ideas. I also wondered which UK universities would be the best to study mechatronics at, since a lot of universities don’t really offer this course. I’m aware that I could also apply for robotics, but mechatronics is what I am much more interested in. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

hi! i’d like to study mechanical engineering and i just finished yr11. i’ve been thinking the same sort of thing- my school doesn’t have a robotics club or anything specifically engineering related so i don’t know how to develop super curriculars. one way could be working on projects using raspberry pi or arduino, as these use electrical components and you could make mechanical things with them?
about mechatronics degrees, i personally haven’t seen much about them but at the university of Bath they have an integrated mechanical and electrical engineering degree. basically you do lectures from both to be more well rounded and familiar in both, which could be something you’re interested in!
i don’t know if this has helped much but good luck anyway!

Hi everyone,
I’m going to try to cover all the questions in this thread but if I miss anything or want to ask any other questions then please let me know : ) I’m a current fourth year student studying Mechatronic Engineering at Lancaster University. I chose Mechatronic Engineering because combines Mechanical and Electrical & Electronic engineering but also includes robotics, control engineering, programming and more!
Universities that offer Mechatronic Engineering:
Lancaster University offers both BEng & MEng variations of the course, Year in Industry & Study Abroad options and our first-year is general so everyone studies the same modules, this means if you change your mind about which discipline you want to do, you have until the end of first year to decide.
For more information:Mechatronic Engineering
Mechatronics vs Robotics:
Typically mechatronics is interdisciplinary branch of engineering that focuses on the integration of mechanical engineering, electronic & electrical engineering, it includes a combination of robotics, systems, control, programming etc. Typically, robotics is the interdisciplinary study of the design, construction, operation and use of robots. My understanding is that robotics is a kind of sub-category of mechatronics. As a Mechatronic engineer I sometimes design, build and test or generally work with robots, but robots aren’t the only thing I work on, where as robotics is all about robots.
However, this is not always the case with the name of university degrees, mechatronic engineering can sometimes be called mechanical with electronic engineering, mechanical with electrical engineering, robotics etc, so I would suggest doing research using different combinations of key terms and then look at the degree content & module lists for each of the degrees to see if it is something you are interested in.
Supercurriculars:
Any supercurriculars look good and demonstrate personal passion for the subject area. I would explore any supercurricular that interests you, this could be mechanical, electronic, electrical, robotics, programming etc, all of these show that you are interested in the mechatronic subject area. For example, during sixth form I did personal projects involving arduino based kits as it was a good starting point to understand how to use microcontroller boards and how to code. I also taught myself to solder so I could start to learn how to construct my own electronics circuit boards. I taught myself additional programming languages as well, I always recommend learning to code as it doesn’t involve any materials or lab space but just a computer so anyone could do it.
I hope this helps!
Izzy (LU Engineering Student Ambassador)

You could start a club? Like create an engineering society at your school and each week someone researches a specific area and presents it and then everyone discusses their knowledge about it?
It depends how big your school is and the type of people