Kaan Esendag

Kaan Esendag is a current undergraduate student studying Mechatronics and Robotics MEng, BEng at the University of Leeds.

Studying at Leeds

Kaan chose to study at the University of Leeds because it is one of the few universities in the UK that does a combined electronics and mechanical course and does it well.

He explained that mechatronics and robotics deal with the implementation of mechanical systems with embedded electronics and believes that at the University of Leeds, there is a good balance between the weight put into the teaching of both mechanical and electrical and programming aspects of engineering in such a way that by the end of the course you would be able to build any kind of robotic system from scratch.

The limits are endless, Mechatronics is the future of engineering. 

He added, “At the faculty there is a great deal of importance put into the practical work along with the usual academic work. The teaching is not limited to lecture theatres and exams, but also labs and project-based learning which lifts the weight of one big traditional exam and provides a more realistic depiction of the industry. The labs are filled to the brim with equipment and tools, every student gets their fair share of lab time. “

Project work

Kaan has enjoyed working on projects. For his third year project, Kaan made a wrist training device as an extension to the MYPAM project used in the rehabilitation of stroke patients. 

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The future 

Kaan sees the future of mechatronics in the implementation of biological systems into robotics and implementation of robotics back into the living. 

I believe that nature has the perfect solution to a lot of systems through millions of years of evolution and we should get inspired by nature more to build our own systems to improve efficiency and for a better future.

He added, “Today the engineering industry needs Mechatronics more than ever. In the Automotive sector, an average car is controlled by thousands of microcontrollers containing millions of lines of codes. Mechatronics and robotics also provide a wide range of specialisation choices such as robotics in medical equipment, prosthetic limbs and cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence and autonomous systems, along with the standard set of specialisation options in electronic engineering and mechanical engineering.

This results in a highly employable course since, by the end of the course, you will be able to do any job done by an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer and both. This is one of the reasons for the course having a high employability rate, the other being the employability suite dedicated to engineering students here at University of Leeds who are helping students build their CV and also provide internship and placement opportunities from the industry and partnerships.”