Three Engineering students from the UAL (University of Almería, Spain) have made the headlines recently after being awarded twice during the 2019 Fair of Ideas thanks to their invention Liberty Delta, a pair of smart glasses featuring sensors and GPS technology, designed to help the blind or visually impaired individuals. The system has already drawn the attention of some companies interested in manufacturing and marketing the product.
The case of Antonio Daniel Guerrero, Aidas Dackus and Alejandro Pino is a perfect example of how developing your own project is a sure way to become a magnet for companies once college years are over. Taking advantage of the resources of your university or developing your own project with its support, is a key factor in achieving professional success.
Which skills will you develop by creating your own project?
When we design our own project at the university, it’s not only about the financial return of the product designed by students. Talent recruiters bet on professional profiles with a series of abilities that are developed and put into practice during the implementation of a personal project.
Those magnet-like abilities, which will help you get your first job, are the following:
- Creativity
- Proactivity
- Capability for teamworking
- Leadership and team management
- Customer-driven orientation
- Ability to anticipate future situations
- Courage to embrace challenges
Doesn’t matter what your speciality may be
Although the instance featuring these three UAL students has a significant technological content, the nature of your speciality has no relevance when embarking on your own project. You can also enhance your resume with other kinds of projects, such as internet-based service provision or research on a particular matter or issue. Everything adds up in terms of creativity and initiative as far as HR managers are concerned.
Final project awards
A good way to design a personal project with practical purposes that will make you interesting to companies is to benefit from the obligation imposed by the European Higher Education Area on Degree or Master’s Degree students in order to obtain their diploma: development and assessment of a final-year project. This is a perfect opportunity to develop a project with which you can stand out in your first job and differentiate yourself to enter the job market.
In some universities, this prerequisite is utilized to motivate students, cultivate meritocracy and excellence and bring out the best of them by granting awards to the best FYPs.
These awards are a usual occurrence in Engineering schools. Teams of students compete against each other, while developing those skills that are in great demand nowadays in the labour market, with the prize acting as an incentive.
Another way to carry your own project out is to resort to idea contests promoted by companies that collaborate regularly with universities and provide funds and resources for their implementation.
In essence, betting on a personal project can launch both your personal and professional brands by allowing you to develop skills that will make you stand out in an increasingly changing, increasingly competitive business world.
Sources: Universidad de Almería, Universia and Estudiar y Emprender Ingeniería