Cambridge University Chemical Engineering Society (CUCES) is a student-run society with over 300 members, consisting of both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
CUCES’s mission is to facilitate engagement between industry professionals and chemical engineering students by organising networking and social events through which students can learn about the exciting projects and opportunities that companies have to offer. CUCES also organises more relaxed events for students to get together, including pub crawls, quizzes, and formal dinners.
In 2023/24, our society will be busy organising many careers-related events such as talks, presentations and workshops with the help of our industry partners and alumni working in relevant sectors. We will also help coordinate interview preparation and professional skills workshops and will be continuing our networking events over the summer and term time with a greater emphasis on start-up and sustainability-focused companies.
Looking ahead, we already have many exciting plans underway: a few careers events in Easter term and the potential for an in-person end-of-year social event; a busy Michaelmas term to provide opportunities for students to explore possible careers after Cambridge; followed by a Lent term with chances for students to learn more about research opportunities and develop their professional skills through workshops and seminars. Circumstances permitting, our Christmas and Annual dinners should also be another event that students look forward to. We also plan to organise many fun in-person and virtual socials throughout term time to accompany these events!
Moreover, for those considering a career in academia, we will be organising presentations from current PhD students, who will share their experiences and insights into their research projects. Integration between various year groups is something that the committee has been trying to improve year after year and we hope to achieve this through these talks as well as through the introduction of a ‘Chemical Engineering family’ scheme.
The CUCES team wants to support all of our members in all aspects of their academic life, as far-ahead as graduate careers and as close as their everyday studies in the department. The whole committee is very much looking forward to taking up our roles and continuing to build on the success of our previous committee.
In an effort to facilitate communication between all cohorts of students on the course, we held a quiz night attended by about 60 of our members. This especially helped integrate the new cohort of freshers into our lively and welcoming community in the Department.
In October 2023 we had several employers from a range of disciplines come in to engage our members and provide insight into engineering and consulting workplaces. Students especially found the Chartwell Consulting case study workshop to be a valuable opportunity to dip a toe into the world of consulting.