Class of 2024: Owen drives career forward in engineering after graduating

Owen Stokes, 22 from Stroud in Gloucestershire, is all set to drive his career forward in engineering after graduating with degree in Motorsport Engineering.

Owen visited the Telford Campus for one of the University of Wolverhampton’s Open Days and knew that, because they offered the opportunity to work on the Race Team as well as real-life design build projects, it was the place he wanted to study.

He said: “Studying was a long, hard journey but it was all worth it for the celebrations today.

“It was the additional things that the University offered as well as the curriculum that really made my mind up for me. There was lots of hands-on opportunities, especially with the Race Team.

“I’ve always been in to cars, but didn’t really know what to do after secondary school, so did a BTEC in Engineering and the love for Motorsport followed.

“I was looking specifically for a career in design engineering, particular for performance race cars, and when I joined the University I worked on the Formula 3 car which meant we ran the car for an entire race weekend, doing checks and all maintenance on the car, and we won the championship that year which was really rewarding.

“I then joined the Formula Student team, which meant that we designed and built a race car from scratch to take part in a national student competition.

“I did a placement year in industry at Jenvey Dynamics designing and building products which are now sold on the market, including 3D printing for individual full throttle body systems for road cars.”

Owen has secured a place at Retro Track and Air and where he will be working closely with Spitfire engines for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flights. He is going on to study for a Master’s course in Stafford before starting work full-time.

He said: “Studying for this degree has been a brilliant experience and I’ve learned a tremendous amount from it”

Graduates are encouraged to keep in touch with the Alumni team and take advantage of a range of benefits and support on offer to them including a discount for Postgraduate study and opportunities to benefit from volunteering and career advice.     

Find out more about the School of Engineering on the website or visit one of our Open Days for more information about studying at the University.    

To find out more about graduate success, check out the Every Story Has a Start web page which showcases our exceptional alumni across the globe doing incredible things. High achievers from the worlds of literature, business, sport, film and the arts feature, sharing how their lives and careers have developed since their days studying with us.