Northumbria student named one of the UK’s top 30 young engineers

A student of Northumbria University has been named one of the country’s top young engineering talents.

Arturas ‘Arthur’ Matusevicius, who is studying on the University’s MSc in Electrical Power Engineering programme, is among only 30 winners of a 2022 BrightSparks Award from Electronics Weekly, in partnership with RS Grass Roots Education.

The BrightSparks scheme aims to highlight the brightest and most talented young engineers in the UK today, to encourage a greater take-up of STEM and engineering-related subjects at school and in Higher Education.

Judges this year said they were looking to honour those already making a difference in the first years of their careers in engineering, or students that show the promise to become the people behind the next big innovations.

BrightSparks judge Tim Mamtora, Chief of Innovation, Imagination Technologies, said: “Arthur's passion for, and ability in, engineering is very clear. Our future leaders need to be able to engage the public in all things STEM, and Arthur is well on his way to being able to do this.”

Dr Richard Binns, Head of the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, recently worked with Arthur on an article on the evolving state of battery technology, which was instrumental in his nomination for the award.

He said: “Arthur is a very colourful character who I’ve had the pleasure of teaching from the very first year.

“He has always engaged and come at problems from a completely oblique angle, which has very interesting potential solutions. He always excels in his work, both inside the University and externally, and this is reflected in his approach. He is a true innovative talent.”

Dr Eamon Scullion, Assistant Professor in the Department, added: “Arthur is one of the few students in my experience who will come to you in person to seek answers and to understand, and always with a smile and a great sense of humour. This is the sort of student that all university lecturers hope for.”

Judges said of Arthur’s nomination: “He can master engineering design and think creatively, as well as write very clearly about abstract engineering concepts for a public audience. Arthur has carried out a comprehensive review of the current state of battery technology,

which has directly strengthened the growing collaborative research and development activity of research staff at Northumbria University.”

Arthur was presented with his award by Chartered Engineer Yewande Akinola on behalf of RS Grass Roots, the education and community Impact team at RS Components, an electronic and electrical industry parts distributor that champions and nurtures young engineers.

Also in attendance to congratulate the award winners at the headquarters of the Institute of Engineering and Technology in London were RS Group plc CEO Lindsley Ruth, RS Grass Roots Vice president Isabella Mascarenhas and Richard Watts, Managing Director of Emap, which publishes Electronics Weekly.

Arthur said: “This accolade has been really pleasantly unexpected as I just like building stuff, but I attribute the success of my award to Richard and Eamon as I think the fact their nomination was so very detailed was what made it stand out.

“I chose to study at Northumbria University because as well as great facilities, the course offers more time and opportunity to work on real-world application projects than other engineering courses, which tend to focus more on theory.

“It’s this aspect of the degree I’ve really enjoyed and I’m excited to see what opportunities the future brings in light of this lovely news.”

Arthur will graduate from his course this year and is furthering his engineering career with a move to Switzerland to work on anti-drone system design, where he is hoping to spend some time perfecting his programming skills.

Arthur is among the students to benefit from Northumbria University’s new world-class £2 million teaching and research facilities for engineering programmes, opened last month by George Freeman MP, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation.

The University is also ranked highly for its engineering research power in the Research Excellence Framework 2021, with 90 per cent of its studies rated as either world-leading or internationally excellent.