CONGRATULATIONS to Matt Zielinski for winning the University of Plymouth Industrial Placement Award as part of the CECA South West Awards 2025.
See Matt’s video here.
In this video, Matt Zielinski talks about receiving a prestigious award from CECA South West for his outstanding performance on placement as part of his BEng Civil and Coastal Engineering course. Matt, from Chard in Somerset, spent a year working on multiple projects with host company Kier, and his achievements saw him named winner of the University of Plymouth Industrial Placement Award, sponsored by Babcock, at the #cecasouthwestawards ceremony in Torquay. Matt worked on numerous flood alleviation and retention projects, living up to his tutor’s description of him as a ‘bundle of energy’. He excelled in everything he did during his placement year – from site surveys to stakeholder management – and attended three company ‘emerging talent’ forums. He was also offered a future place on the Kier graduate apprenticeship scheme.
Paul Santer, CECA South West Regional Director, commented: “Matt exhibits everything that is good about a young civil engineer – talent, enthusiasm and a boundless amount of energy. He’s also a great role model for other young people, as he demonstrated while attending careers fairs during his placement year. He clearly has a great future ahead of him.”
The CECA South West Young Achiever Awards are presented annually in recognition of exceptional performance, with each winner receiving an inscribed trophy and cheque for £750.
