Meet James Matraves, winner of the IET Somerset and West Wiltshire Local Network Prize

My name is James Matraves, and I studied Foundation Degree Motorsport Engineering at Bridgwater and Taunton College over the last 2 years. I really enjoyed this course it had many practical aspects which I feel are lost/disregarded in most engineering courses. Prior to this I also studied two years of Motorsport Vehicle Maintenance and Repair.

I took this course as I have always been interested in motorsport and I was looking to get into working for top tier motorsport teams. I am currently studying BEng (Hons) Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes University. I have two more years which will consist of one placement year and one more academic/studying year.

I wanted to get into engineering because I have always been interested in the way things work. Engineering often combines creativity and analytical thinking which is great as solutions can be designed to improve and enhance systems and people’s lives.

I was very proud to have earnt the IET Somerset and West Wilts local network prize - as I felt I had worked exceedingly hard to produce my project. Once it was complete and I knew that I had improved the power and efficiency of the engine, I was delighted. From an idea, to a computer render, to cutting pieces of metal, and finally having the manifold assembled and working was a feeling that is difficult to match.

My plans for the future have changed since I first started learning about motorsport engineering nearly 5 years ago. My plans have now changed to working in the classic car restoration and racing business. There is much room for engineering in this field in reproducing and optimising parts and I feel I could greatly benefit from the skills I would learn here.

Note from Julie Hudson - A lot of local networks around the world offer prizes to students at local FE establishments. The IET Somerset and West Wiltshire network have been doing this for many years, so a lot of students have benefitted from these prizes. I hope you will all join me in congratulating James on his achievement and wish him well in his future career.