Graduate gets life back on track with master's at Salford

Jamie Geddes is now on the road to a successful career after completing his Acoustics course and claiming the highest overall mark in the Acoustics & Audio Subject Group.

His undergraduate degree in Maths and Physics at the University of Warwick was heavily disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and he left academia to work in recruitment for a year at a firm in London. During this year, he decided to take a leap of faith by going back to university to study an MSc in Acoustics.

Today, Jamie is working as a research and development engineer at KEF (Kent Engineering and Foundry), a prestigious UK loudspeaker company known world-wide for its authentic soundstage and delivering cutting edge audio. Founded in 1961, the company is one of the few in the field that both develops and manufactures its own technology: cabinets, drivers, software and most electronics. Jamie’s role involves acoustics research and designing loudspeakers for the company, supplying customers with the best possible quality audio, and it was his year studying at Salford that qualified him for this and unlocked this opportunity.

Jamie has always been passionate about music and audio, and during his year working in recruitment he thought endlessly about sound systems and speakers. This passion is what led him to acoustics. When trying to find the right course for him, he explained that Salford’s Acoustics MSc programme was consistently rated as one of the best in the field.

Jamie said: “I came to the Acoustics MSc at Salford wanting to prove myself and get back into academia after a year away working in a job I wasn't enjoying.

“The facilities at Salford are amazing and have helped me get a head start in my career.  The Anechoic Chamber is state of the art and meant I was comfortable using the facilities and equipment at KEF.”

With access to this sort of specialist facility alongside a great variety of modules, the course helped him get on the right track for his career.

Jamie gave special thanks to Dr Jonathan Hargreaves, his lead tutor at Salford.

Dr Hargreaves said: “From first meeting Jamie it was clear that he had a passion for audio, a drive to learn, and potential that circumstances had meant he hadn’t been able to reach during his undergraduate degree. It is a delight to see him realise that potential now through our MSc, and start his career with a fantastic position in an internationally renowned audio R&D department."