Track 15

Track 15

My name’s Mubarak and I’m from the United Arab Emirates. My favourite subject at school was Maths. I really loved it, I think primarily because I liked being able to use logic to work out answers, rather than having to speculate and theorise, as you often do in arts subjects.

I went on to study for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, both in Mechanical Engineering at Leeds University in England. I chose that subject because, although I was more keen on Maths, engineering is more practical. My decision to study in Britain was motivated by the high prestige of British qualifications back in my home country.

The tuition fees are very high for foreign students but my family paid them for me. I found the course very challenging. English is, of course, not my mother tongue so I found some of the lectures and seminars hard to follow. As a result, I failed my first year exams. I had to retake them all, but then, thankfully, I passed.

I always did well in my coursework because I could take time to research the topic and check my English. My dream job would be to work as a mechanical engineer for the United Arab Emirates’ Army. The reasons are that such a job carries high prestige, it would be interesting, and there would be good job security - if I got such a job, I would probably have it for life.