Melissa Pace is studying MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering with Industrial Experience and is set to graduate in 2024. 

Previous students who have also been awarded the scholarship include Sikandar Zaheer Rana and Hashim Hamid, who are both undertaking the MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering course at The University of Manchester. 

The scholarship was originally set up in 2017 in memoriam of Alasdair Sinclair, the senior mechanical engineer who had been an integral part of the Koura (previously Mexichem Fluor) team for more than 27 years. 

Alasdair Sinclair’s sudden passing in December 2015 had a huge impact on his colleagues, who worked closely with his family to develop the scholarship in his honour. 

The scholarship offers £2,250 per academic year to each selected student to support them with living costs and course materials. 

Scholarship students also get the chance to undertake a work placement at Koura’s Cheshire-based plant, where they can gain hands-on experience across operations, engineering, manufacturing, mechanical and maintenance. 

Melissa Pace said: “I wanted to come to the University of Manchester because it has such a good reputation for engineering, but also because of the social responsibility of the university so I knew I would be prepared to find a career to impact the world positively.” 

Tipu Salahuddin, downstream operations director at Koura, said: “We’re delighted that the dedication and hard work of Alasdair Sinclair can be celebrated with a scholarship that’s also helping to build the careers of the brightest future generation of engineers. Melissa proved to be an outstanding candidate during the University of Manchester’s selection process and we were pleased when they shared the news with us.”