Hamza Maqbool

Hamza Maqbool is a Senior Controls Engineer at the Science and Technology Facilities Council, where he designs and maintains components for a particle accelerator used in cutting-edge materials research.

Since earning his MSc in Advanced Electronic Systems Engineering from Kent in 2021, he has worked on major projects across multiple countries, including hydrogen production and carbon capture in Germany before returning to the UK in 2023.

Tell us about your career path since graduation.

After graduating, I took a couple of months to travel around the UK and spend a bit more time with friends in Canterbury as I loved the city. Since my degree covered a variety of courses, rather than specialize in any one, I had a few job offers from different industries. I decided to relocate to Germany to take on a role in Oil and Gas, where a lot of work was going on for Hydrogen production as a fuel alternative, and Carbon Capture and Storage. I got to work in cross-functional teams with projects in different countries from Norway to Egypt, as well as getting the time to travel around Europe on weekend getaways.

In 2023, I decided to move back to the UK when I was offered a role at one of UKRI's public funded research facilities in Oxford. During my time in Canterbury, I had a trip to Oxford on which I loved the city's diverse student population as well as the architecture. These were both things I had grown fond of living in Canterbury, so the chance to live here while working in a not-for-profit setting made it so appealing for me that I've been here since.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

I work at a particle accelerator facility where we have scientists and engineers working on the latest materials research. My role involves designing new components to be integrated into the accelerator as well as the maintenance of existing scientific infrastructure. This gives me the freedom to research my own ideas, but also means I have to manage other staff and contractors for the tasks I delegate. There are also design reviews and operation meetings which I attend as the responsible engineer from my team. The work environment is in a way more exciting from other industries I have worked in, as there are additional hazards such as ionizing radiation, high magnetic fields, explosive environment as well as confined spaces, which means being a subject matter expert I get called at odd-hours when a scientist is doing an experiment and a dangerous condition arises.

A huge part of working in research is also the chance to collaborate with other research institutes. I currently have projects going on with CERN and provide guidance to others in institutes in Sweden and the US. There are scientists who come from around the world to do research in our facility whom I work with, but there are also conferences that I need to attend as part of my role to ensure I stay updated and can implement newer technologies in our workplace as well.

Can you share a professional highlight from your career so far?

There are various visitors who come to our facility ranging from school kids to policy makers, whom I have given tours to talk about the science we do - I love that part! With the younger children, you get to see so much curiosity and influence some to consider becoming scientists, while for the policy makers you get to show them how the taxpayer money is contributing to more discoveries and keeping the UK at the forefront of science.

How did your time at Kent help you achieve your current career?

The big multi-cultural student body at Kent really prepares you for the world, and the best way to make the most of it is by getting yourself into student societies and sports clubs. For me it made me re-evaluate working in other countries by moulding me to be more open-minded, and pick up transferrable skills that have time and again proven to be the reason I adapt so easily and stand out professionally.

What advice would you give to our current/prospective students who are looking to get into the same line of work?

I conduct interviews so I can say grades matter, and even more so technical knowledge, but to graduates coming to an engineering workplace, you can teach all that as long as someone is a good fit for the work culture. Most of the times interviewers would use the same set of questions to ensure fair evaluation of candidates; polish your soft skills so you don't miss that opportunity at the right time.

Did you get involved in any extracurricular activities as a student?

A friend of mine jokingly called me the "poster student" for the university as I used to be very engaged in marketing campaigns as well as student societies. I was a student ambassador representing Kent at student fairs, answering frequent queries online from prospective students on the Unibuddy platform, and being the face of international campaigns. I was an active part of over 10 student societies with my favourites being Amnesty International where I met some of my closest friends, Hogwarts who had the best social events, the Space Society where you could use telescopes even in the late hours of the night, and Respect The No. I took part in the Global Skills Award as well that was a series of lectures on global awareness, and managed to get a high number of employability points that could be used to apply for internships and other work experience with Kent's industrial partners.

Do you have a favourite memory from your time at Kent?

Some of my favourite memories are in Blean Woods where I regularly went for a run with friends. Or walking along the pathways in Parkwood late at night after we cooked together. We would often take the bus down to Dover or to the beaches in Broadstairs. And another thing I still appreciate from Kent was the library being open 24/7; I once came back to my student dorm at 7am. I haven't seen that in other libraries in Europe, and seen students struggling to find a convenient common place to study during exam season.

Is there anything you would do differently if you could repeat your time at Kent?

Wouldn't change a thing.

Are you still in touch with other Kent alumni or academics?

My friends from Kent are some of my closest friends now. They live in different parts of the world so we either meet up in different countries or go on vacations together. I talk to my best friend from Kent on a daily basis and we often reminisce about the good times at Kent. 
I work with UKRI which is the national funding agency for research, so I sometimes come across familiar faces in the academic circles.

What are your future ambitions?

I get to work on highly impactful projects that address engineering challenges of today, so that is something I would like to keep working on at a greater level of responsibility, whether that continues to be in the UK or elsewhere.