Redda Hassan-Beck

I was born and raised in the UK. I was born in Newcastle then I relocated to Cambridge, and then myself and my family, relocated abroad for 13 years in the Arabian Gulf so the UAE.  I came back to London this is now my seventh year in London.  Before I started this course, I was still studying so as I mentioned, before this course, like a year ago, I was unemployed and enrolled at a different institution. Previously before this too I went to university my highest qualification is a master’s which I completed in 2021.   

The main reason as to why I applied to the course was that I couldn’t find a job. I’ve applied, left right and centre, unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be. So, what I decided for myself is to take out some time to do some more studying, to enrol onto a course and to gain a qualification. 

Honestly speaking, love the course. the reason being was the amount of engineering technical content that I’ve learnt has been so enriching, so fulfilling, so enjoyable. It’s classic teaching style and some online support learning materials on Microsoft Teams and our student portal where we can access course material.  So, there’s a lot of information you can revise. 

We had an excursion where we went to a networking exhibition where we were exposed to different sectors within construction. So, we’re doing construction sustainability, so we found lots of pavilions advertising these types of products. There are also learning centres as well. We even found the actual course main centre, the retrofit academy who I approached and took their details. We’ve also had external companies come in to visit to give us talks about the day in the life of a domestic retrofit assessor which was very beneficial as well. It’s a very engaging and well-rounded course.  

My greatest achievement at WAES would be the privilege that not only as a learner on the course but there’s the opportunity to volunteer which is great so we can also apply our own learning in a “working environment” as a digital ambassador here.  On the day of the induction for the course, we had the respected Regina introduce all these opportunities at WAES to us. I booked a one to one and was successfully on boarded as a Digital Ambassador. I’ve helped learners with Microsoft Teams queries and accessing their accounts on their phones and general housekeeping of the printers. I tried as well, helping a student that had additional needs in terms of uploading a file.  During quiet times I do recap and go back on revising my work for the course that I’m on.  

In terms of how the course has made a difference to my life it’s definitely given me that social environment where I’m supported by a cohort. You can have lunch and share your knowledge and those who know more i get to learn from them as well.  It has strengthened my engineering skill set. So my background is is predominantly engineering. I’m hunting for courses that can help me grow within our industry within that sector to be able to work as an Engineer. 

My advice would be so if you’re interested in engineering sciences, if you’re looking for a course where it keeps you engaged, it gets you out there, if you’re looking for progression as well within the field of construction sustainability, energy efficiency, retrofit assessment, then this is definitely the course for you.