Andrew Wade

This grad works inside one of the world's biggest crisp factories

News

Engineering grad Katherine Ebsworth first worked for PepsiCo on a university placement. During that time she got experience on the production line for Walkers Crisps, and even designed a computer programme that controls how the crisps are seasoned. Now a full-time process specialist at the company, The Student Engineer caught up with Katherine to talk about crisps, college and the ergonomic factories of tomorrow.

Katherine Ebsworth

Where and what did you study?

Having always been interested about how to combine technical design skills with mathematics and creativity, I decided to study Product Design Engineering (BEng) at Loughborough University for 4 years. The third year of the course was an industrial placement which also gave me a Diploma in Industrial Studies (DIS).

How did the placement with PepsiCo come about?

PepsiCo have always offered placements for students, but I was lucky in that the year I applied was the first year they had ever interviewed for an Operations placement! Normally they are in Research and Development or IT Services, but this was an opportunity to get involved with the inner workings of the factory and think about how to improve the efficiency of the business. My university guided me through the application process, and supported me all the way through.

What type of production processes did you work on?

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