UK’s top systems & electronics undergraduate

Xavier Bourret Sicotte, a student at Imperial College London, has been named the Systems and Electronics Undergraduate of the Year at the first ever TargetJobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards.

The award, run in association with Thales UK, the leading technology, a player in the aerospace, defence, security and transportation markets, was launched to find Britain's most promising systems and electronics undergraduate and attracted entries from over 130 talented undergraduates.

Sicotte, 19, an electrical engineering undergraduate in his penultimate year, was chosen following a number of phased assessments including online personality questionnaires and bespoke situational competency tests devised by Thales UK and leading talent assessment solutions provider, SHL. This was followed by a telephone interview to discuss his experience in more detail and test his technical and personal skills. As well as receiving the impressive accolade, he has also won £3,000 and a visit to a Thales full-flight simulator.

Victor Chavez, deputy CEO, Thales UK, said: "All the finalists were extremely talented but Xavier stood out because of his academic ability, personal skills and ambition. At Thales, we are always looking for the most talented graduates and this award has been a fantastic way of identifying the systems and electronics leaders of the future."

Sicotte battled it out with nine other finalists from the University of Plymouth, the University of Manchester, Queen's University Belfast, the University of Surrey, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Hull, the University of Sheffield, Coventry University and the University of Cambridge, all well recognised for their systems and electronics departments. A range of systems and electronics courses were represented, including informatics, aerospace systems engineering, and robotics and automated systems.