DCG Success Stories

Former Derby College Group Engineering student and Peak Award winner Melissa Chimutanda has returned to College – but this time as a lecturer.

Her new job is based at Rolls-Royce plc, the company which sponsored the Engineering Excellence Award she won at DCG back in 2015.

A former Merrill Academy student, Melissa always had her sights set on an engineering career.

After DCG, she went onto study for a degree in Mechanical Engineering at De Montfort University, having been awarded the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Engineering Horizons Bursary.

Melissa then spent two years with global rolling stock manufacturer Bombardier before taking up her new teaching role in September.

She said: “I learnt that Lewis, my former lecturer at DCG, was recruiting for a position that might suit me, but at that point I didn’t know I would be based at Rolls-Royce. I applied and was successful and I’m happy to say it’s going brilliantly.

I’m at Rolls-Royce’s Learning and Development Centre in the Fitting Skills workshop delivering training to Derby College apprentices and degree level students. The working environment at Rolls-Royce is very inclusive and I’m given recognition for my work.”

With DCG’s support, Melissa starts her Professional Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) next September, studying part-time at the University of Derby.

She added: “Everyone is so supportive. As a DCG student I always used to wonder what went on behind the scenes and now that I am a lecturer, I see that there’s quite a lot to it. After my master’s I’d like to work towards becoming a quality assessor.”