Nicholas Coiro
Find out about Nicholas
Full name: Nicholas Lawrence Coiro
Course:MEng Robotics
Current job title: Senior Software Engineer
Current employer: Boston Dynamics
Current location: Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Plymouth gave me the opportunity to explore many aspects of the field of robotics to better understand in which area of the field I wanted to work. It gave me the skills that I needed to pursue the career I was passionate about and gain the opportunities I needed to work at the company I wanted.
What originally motivated you to study in the field of robotics?
I’m very much a generalist engineer. I was interested in computers science, as well as electrical and mechanical engineering. Robotics Engineering was a natural fit for me as it is a perfect fusion of all these disciplines in one comprehensive area of study.
Tell us about your career path since graduation.
Directly after graduation, I started at a Falmouth-based robotics company as an embedded software engineer. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great match for what I wanted to do, and I soon began looking at other opportunities with a broader scope. Though this search, I managed to find a role doing behaviour development at my dream company, Boston Dynamics. The first role gave me experience searching for and selecting a job, and the second role has given me the chance to apply the software acumen that I developed at Plymouth, while learning and applying some entirely new skills. In addition to technical acumen, this job has refined my communication skills. By travelling to customer sites, I have learned the value of customer feedback and it’s importance in ensuring we meet the customer’s needs and delivering a solution.
What is the best moment and/or most rewarding achievement you have experienced throughout your career, to date?
Honestly, my most rewarding achievement has been getting hired at Boston Dynamics. I feel a true sense of pride realising that the education I received at the University of Plymouth qualifies me to sit as a colleague with some of the foremost Robotics Engineers in the world. Every day, I work on equal footing with engineers from some of the top technical schools in the world, universities like MIT and WPI, and due to Plymouth’s MEng Industrial Year programme, I got here a year earlier than most with a full year’s work experience on which to build.
What is the most difficult experience you have faced in your career and how did your time at Plymouth help you overcome these?
Adapting to the steep learning curve of a pure robotics environment was a challenging experience. The MEng programme prepares students with a diverse set of skills to fit the many aspects of the field of robotics engineering. However, there is a lot of learning needed to specialize into a chosen area. However, given the ground skills given by Plymouth, as well as experience in learning new systems and skills, I found I was a valuable team member within a short period of time.
How did studying at the University of Plymouth influenced your career aspirations and plans, and/or help you reach where you are in your career now?
Plymouth gave me the opportunity to explore many aspects of the field of robotics to better understand in which area of the field I wanted to work. It gave me the skills that I needed to pursue the career I was passionate about and gain the opportunities I needed to work at the company I wanted.
Would you recommend undertaking a course with the University of Plymouth, and why?
Yes, I think the MEng programme offers a course that is concise, but not limited in scope. It provides students with the skills they need to explore any aspect of the field they’d like. As well as offering the chance to gain real world experience through the placement year. This combination allows students to compete well with other graduates when searching for jobs.
What advice would you give to a prospective student considering studying and developing their career, in the same field as you?
Robotics is a broad field, and there are many different aspects and areas to explore. While the curriculum covers many bases, it doesn’t cover everything. Through hobbies, societies and work experience, try to cover as many aspects of the field as you can, so you can get a feel for what you really want to do. If you find what you want to do, these same extra-curriculars can help to focus and hone your skills in that specific niche.
How can studying a degree within the area of Robotics enable one to make a positive impact towards resolving global challenges
Robotics offers a very powerful set of tools for improving the world that must be used responsibly. It can offer solutions to a diverse set of problems that often would put people at risk. It also offers new avenues for efficiency that can help produce a society and luxury, but it does not solve all problems and the impact of the field, such as e-waste and worker poverty, must be accounted for. If applied mindfully robotics and automation can be a versatile tool.
If you did a placement year as part of your degree, please tell us about it.
I found my placement year to be a great way to develop self-learning skills, as well as some experience in a working environment, boosting my communication, initiative and adaptability. When I started the placement year, I was very inexperienced and admittedly naïve, I was thrown head first into a business setting and needed to develop my own opportunities and define my role within the organisation. The MEng focuses on providing the foundation of engineering, but the Industrial year, rounds out the career development. Due to the placement year, I developed the necessary business setting skills with in my university years and started at Boston Dynamics as a more mature and valuable employee. In addition to the learning benefits, I met several industry contacts who I have kept in touch with since, and while I ended up working in a different part of the world. They were able to offer very helpful letters of recommendation and assistance in finding the next steps in my career.
How did you find the support services that were available to you during your studies?
PALs and the careers and employability hub were some of my most utilised tools through the university. PALs was a super helpful way to grasp the basics and get practice outside of classes. The careers and employability hub was an invaluable tool in preparing my resume for my placement year.
MEng (Hons) Robotics
The MEng Robotics course leads to a high-level qualification which is recognized by The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), providing a fast route to Chartered Engineer status. The field of robotics is very dynamic and constantly changing. However our lectures are given by research active staff, ensuring teaching always remains up-to-date and relevant to the needs of industry. This leads to very high student employment after graduation.
