Where are they now? Robbie Loudon

Back to the Future - Babcock International Group engineer and Formula Student alumnus Robbie Loudon rejoins his team at Silverstone.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do at Babcock International Group

I am Robbie Loudon and I am a Mechanical Engineering Graduate based at our Rosyth site. As part of my role I get to work on a range of really exciting engineering projects.

Where did you study engineering?

I studied at the University of Strathclyde. It has some of the best engineering courses in the UK as well as their close collaboration with industry and they have a 30 year relationship with Babcock!

What year did you take part in Formula Student and how has it helped you in your career?

I took part in 2019 and what I enjoyed the most about my involvement in Formula Student is the opportunity it gave me to be involved in a live project whilst also working in a high paced environment. It also enabled me to experience different challenges that weren’t part of my degree programme. I became the Business Head for the Formula Student team and I created a 5 year business plan demonstrating the car’s marketability and doing market analysis to assess what markets we planned to target. Involvement in the technical design was invaluable, enabling me to create good work practices combined with business planning and implementation provided a deeper understanding of the challenges faced in a multi-disciplinary environment in an engineering project.

What top tips would you give participants taking part in the event?

This year I am supporting the team again as a Cost Assessor as it’s within the same business plan I helped create in 2019. My advice would be get as much experience in the static events (business, cost & design) as it can be what differentiates you from other engineers. Combining the business and commercial awareness with technical engineering skills can enable you to add even more value to the project and team.

Babcock is the 2021 AI Partner. How is technology shaping the work you do?

We’re a technology-led business and I’m really excited at how digital technology is really shaping the future of engineering, and having a real impact on what we do at Babcock, from AI, augmented reality to digital twins. Whilst the Strathclyde team aren’t entering an AI car this year, it’s a fast developing area for the engineering industry and one Babcock has an active participation in as a business – so watch this space!

For more information on Careers at Babcock International, please visit https://www.babcockinternational.com/careers.