Craig clinches a First, a prize and a new job!

Learning and earning has proved a successful combination for Craig Smithson, for he has graduated from the University of Teesside with a First Class BEng (Hons) degree in Electronic Engineering, and clinched a new post as a Graduate Engineer for UB Biscuits, based both in Billingham, Teesside and Consett, County Durham. In addition Craig, 22, of Clarendon Road, Thornaby, has also been awarded the Institute of Electronic Engineers prize.

Craig left the Dene School in Thornaby aged 16, and joined KP Foods in Billingam as an apprentice maintenance engineer. He continued with part-time study, gaining an Ordinary National Certificate (HNC) in Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Stockton-Billingham College, and a higher National Certificate (HNC) in the same subject at Teesside Tertiary College. Craig then decided to covert his HNC to a degree, by studying full-time at the University of Teesside for two years. During the two-year course, he also continued to work at weekend for KP foods.

Craig said. “Combining work and study has been the best route for me, although I had to be very organised with my time during the two-year top-up. The theory side of the course was valuable to my new post, such as preventative maintenance, which has given me an understanding of different things that can go wrong.

“The final year was mainly practical, with experimental projects focusing on design testing and software. There was a lot of group work, which was helpful, as you got to work in a team with the rest of the engineers. The Learning resource Centre at Teesside is brilliant. I’ve never seen a library as big as that before, every book you needed was there. Being able to access the Internet for projects was also useful.”

Craig is the first person in his family to graduate from university and he is only one of two on his course to achieve a First Class degree. He added: “ I wasn’t expecting to get a First, I was very pleased. My parents, Shirley and Kevin, are more over the moon than I am. The prize is a bit of a shock as well!

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