Kara Mutch, a BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology student at RGU writes about choosing RGU, her course experience and learning during the pandemic.

Passion for Architectural Technology

I am a very creative person and have always been that way since my childhood. In secondary school, my favourite subjects were design and manufacture, graphic communication and art and design. I have always loved exploring different concepts and then testing them. I wanted to find unique ways to present them.

Truthfully, I hadn’t come across the Architectural Technology course at RGU until the very last minute. I had always been set on studying design engineering. However, as soon as my guidance teacher introduced me to it, I knew that it was exactly the course for me. It actually ended up being the only course I applied to as I had my heart set on it.

Kara Mutch, a BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology student at RGU

Choosing RGU

My grandma was a lecturer at RGU previously. Through her, I knew the campus well from a very young age. Visiting RGU had always been an exciting experience for me. In my fifth year of school, I took part in the Access To programme and went to the Aberdeen Business School every week over an eight-week period. This really helped in familiarising myself with RGU and seeing what it had to offer students.

I was always keen to stay home in Aberdeen during my studies and I am grateful to have such a large modern campus upon my doorstep. In addition to this, what drew me to studying at RGU was their high employability rate. It is also a very happening University with a lot of activities to get involved in.

Kara Mutch, a BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology student at RGU

Architectural Technology course experience

When I look back on my time studying Architectural Technology at RGU, the whole of my first year is what I have found the most enjoyable so far. I think it was mainly because University was a totally new experience for me having come straight from secondary school. I absolutely loved making new friends and speaking to staff within the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment; I also met people that had come from lots of different backgrounds. I personally got a lot of enjoyment out of learning new things. So the first year was certainly great, in terms of getting used to a totally new way of learning and studying.

Within your first year, you get such a good insight into the construction industry and the role of an architectural technologist. The first year definitely kick-started my journey in the right way and I felt ready to take on the challenging four years ahead of me.

Kara Mutch, a BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology student at RGU

In the second semester of my third year, I took part in the BP student tutoring scheme. This scheme was eight weeks long. I spent the majority of my Mondays at Lochside Academy in their technology department. This was an amazing experience. I never looked forward to Mondays so much in my life. I really enjoyed getting an insight into what a career in secondary teaching would be like as this is something I am currently considering. Both the staff and the students at Lochside Academy were great to work with. They helped me gain a good understanding of what a career in technology teaching would be like within all the different subject areas they have.

Learning during the pandemic

During the recent pandemic, I have completed my third year and I am now halfway through my fourth year. I really didn’t expect to be completing my fourth year of uni from home. Quite frankly, the idea of that scared me a lot.

When we first went into lockdown it took me a while to adjust to working from home. Now that we are all adapting to the current climate a bit better, it has become easier, especially as we are all going through it together. I am glad to have uni to keep me busy and it is such a good way to still feel connected with people.

Kara Mutch, a BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology student at RGU

I feel a real sense of achievement when I say that I wrote and completed my dissertation in the middle of a pandemic. Jonathan, my course leader is always keen to have us involved and taking part in discussions within our online classes. I love that because I miss the interaction that we get during our studio days. It is nice to have online uni structured in a way that makes students feel as normal as possible. I definitely miss seeing my uni friends and lecturers every week but luckily the same support is all still there, just a message or video call away.

Advice to future students

The biggest tip I have for future students is to get involved in academic and non-academic activities at uni as much as you can. This is something I was nervous to do initially but have unquestionably taken on more within the last two years. Your time at university goes by so fast so I would definitely make the most of being a student while you can. There is so much great support at RGU. If you are ever curious about anything then just ask and someone at RGU is always more than happy to help you! I personally find the ‘Contact a Student‘ platform an amazing place to get current students personal views and experiences on all things to do with university life as well as all the different courses.

Kara Mutch

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