Previously, I applied for the ‘Celebrating Resilience through Adversity Undergraduate of the Year Award 2023’. - full of hope. However, I didn’t even make it to the finalists. Fast forward to nearly the end of January 2025, this meant I kept getting several email reminders from both targetjobs UK and the Imperial Careers Service’s weekly newsletter to apply at the last minute. When I looked at the 2025 Awards, I noticed brand-new but much more exciting categories for this year such as the Multilingual UGOTY and the National Security UGOTY for the first time. To me, National Security means protecting the UK and her interests locally, nationally, globally and up in space, by utilising the transformative power of science. As a result, this category aligned with my passion to use my favourite subject, Physics, to fulfil my moral duty of making a positive change in this world. Honestly, the application process itself was very straightforward and not time consuming. There were just 3 short questions, followed by a few quick online assessments that even auto-generated a detailed, useful feedback report at the end.

Fast forward to March 2025, I was invited to a short, 30-min interview -which felt more like a refreshing and friendly chat that really made my day! A few weeks later, I received an email informing me that I was selected as a national finalist from a record number of applications nationwide. As a result, I was invited to the Grand Final at The Pelligon in Canary Wharf on Friday the25th of April 2025. As I’m from London, the commute to Canary Wharf itself was less than an hour. Plus, who doesn’t love free food along with all travel expenses paid? After the 3-course meal, the winners were announced. When I found out I’d won, it felt a bit surreal - especially given that I didn’t even make it to the finals in the 2023 Awards. Being crowned as the first ever ‘National Security Undergraduate Of The Year’ meant that I was awarded the prestigious Defence STEM Undergraduate Scholarship (DSUS) by AWE (Atomic Weapons Establishment) Nuclear Security Technologies plc. This included: Fully-funded tuition paid for up to 3 years of my studies+ a generous annual bursary+ expert mentorship+ priority for graduate roles+ a paid 9-week summer placement with AWE in 2026A couple of weeks after the ceremony, Imperial Careers Service invited me to pop in for a quick chat on the whole experience - and they even published a news feature about this on Imperial News: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/264115/national-security-undergraduate-year-eshaan-niraj/

This summer, I successfully completed my Physics Teaching Internship, fully funded by the Department for Education (DfE), with the National Institute of Teaching in partnership with the Harris Federation, a network of 55+ leading academies in and around London. Ultimately, this aligns with my passion to help young people visualise and understand complex physics and maths concepts step-by-step - empowering and inspiring future generations by making STEM more engaging and accessible for everyone. Last but not least, as a global citizen, I’m deeply grateful to AWE - not only for sponsoring this award, but also for championing STEM as a force for good. In the 21st century, AWE is an inspiring reminder of the transformative power of science to keep people safe. I’d also like to thank targetjobs UK for launching this bold new partnership and award category with AWE for the first-time. Together, they’ve built an ambitious bridge that connects young people like myself with real-world opportunities for using physics to help solve complex, global challenges. If you’re a student reading this, don’t worry about the time commitment involved in the application process - and absolutely go for it! Passion is what turns hardship into leadership.