Mark, who was nominated by his tutor Dr Simon Kent for the top accolade, beat 13,000 other graduates to become one of just 100 UK finalists – and one of only 10 in the IT and Computing category.
His list of achievements is both enviable and impressive. Arriving at Brunel after a stint working in the music industry, he brought national live music tours to the Students’ Union for the first time in years, worked as an ambassador for both his course and the University, and volunteered for an NGO in Burma.
He taught conflict resolution and self defence in inner city schools – using the skills he learned as a member of the Brunel Ju Jitsu club – and represented Brunel for the IBM Universities Business Challenge.
And he still found time to take a 14-month placement as a software engineer at CERN in Geneva, as well as fit in his studies – picking up a first class honours degree and the Information Systems and Computing department’s ‘highest achieving student’ prize in the process.
Mark described the nomination as a “nice surprise”, adding: “I had a really great experience at Brunel, and the academics and support staff are brilliant. I learned a lot during my time here and gained a degree I'm really proud of. So to have been nominated for this is a bonus.”
Since graduating Mark has landed a role as a graduate software engineer in the civil service, developing secure communications systems for government departments.
The awards ceremony takes place at a gala dinner in London this Wednesday (15 September), with special guest, ‘dragon’ James Caan (from BBC’s Dragon’s Den).
Sponsored by the Financial Times, Graduate 100 celebrates Britain’s outstanding young talent, selecting for the shortlist only those tipped to be the next generation of future leaders. Each student who makes the final list will be profiled in the Graduate 100 publication and promoted to the UK’s top companies and organisations.
Visit the Graduate 100 website for more information on the awards. www.graduate100.com