Simon Billiet

MPhil alumni
Department of Engineering
University of Cambridge

At Cambridge

As an outward-looking young engineer with a clear ambition to tackle climate change, I wanted to learn in an international environment on a topic that I believed will play a big role in the clean energy transition – nuclear energy. The MPhil in Nuclear Energy at the University of Cambridge covered everything on that checklist.

I enjoyed how the course was not solely theoretical but had a very broad perspective on nuclear energy, in particular the policy, business, and societal aspects in the 21st century. The course also organises many field-trips and is a platform to meet many interesting people from the industry

Finally, Cambridge was also a lot about fun. I was able to try out many different sports, and I’m happy to have met all the interesting people, from course and college alike.

What I am doing now

After graduating I started working as a research project leader at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, collaborating in nuclear fuels research and irradiation experiments. I am grateful to the MPhil as it was the ideal preparation. Next to the career support team at Cambridge, I also received much guidance and help from my supervisors within the MPhil.