Greg Allen

3rd-year student, Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Electronic Engineering

Deciding to study electronic engineering was easy, says Greg Allen who came to AUT to take on a Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Electronic Engineering to complement his successful career in the military.

“I had a bit of a background in electronic engineering from my career in the military, and I thought it was best to expand on that knowledge. Electronic engineering has always been something I liked and it kind of resonated with me. I chose AUT for my studies because it has more of a practical learning basis than other universities. I find that having a practical element helps me retain the knowledge I’m taught; it’s just how my brain is wired.”

Expecting to graduate in December, he already has a good idea how he sees his future after university.

“My plan is to start working towards a career in engineering management and project management. I’ve found that I’m quite good when it comes to working and managing people, so I think I’d like to head down towards that sort of path.”

Practical and relevant
The teaching staff and the practical aspects are what he has enjoyed most about his studies, says Greg who is proud to have been asked to speak at his graduation ceremony.

“I liked the large amount of practical learning that came with many of my subjects as this enabled me to visualise the content and retain the information. I also appreciated that a lot of the lecturers I had were quite happy to have discussions and talk about the content rather than just talk at me about the information. I like to be able to talk and discuss different elements of what I’m learning to be able to understand it.”

His studies haven’t been without challenges, he admits.

“The biggest challenge for me was becoming a new father and juggling parenthood with my university needs. It became rather challenging around the birth of my son as it was right in the middle of study prep for exams and I had to do exams when he was a few weeks old. This also applied in 2024 as he as growing up and I was juggling finishing uni work with spending time with my son; all while my wife was doing shift work.”

Advice for other students
With graduation just around the corner, Greg has some great advice for other students.

“Enjoy your time at AUT – it’s a pretty amazing place. Take the time to study different things, and remember that your electives can be absolutely left field and don’t have to be related to the subject you’re studying. For example, I did New Zealand Sign Language for a semester and loved it.”

You do get out what you put in, he adds.

“Decide for yourself how much you want to achieve at university and once you’ve decided, go for it, and put in the work and time to achieve your goals.”