University News Last updated 08 January
A Redditch engineer whose research played a key role in the development of self-driving cars has been named Birmingham City University's Alumnus of the Year.
Mark Cund, who completed a BSc (Hons) in Computing and Electronics in 2008, almost didn’t make it to BCU after failing his A levels.
But after a stint in military intelligence followed by a brief spell at another university before dropping out, he enrolled at BCU as a 30-year-old mature student.
Even then, Mark had to overcome periods of extreme self-doubt to complete not one but two degrees at the university, gaining an MSC in Automotive Calibration and Control in 2012.
“The word I’d use to describe my career so far is unplanned,” he said.
“I have never had a really fixed idea of what I should be doing. I just like knowing how things work, so I’ve done what has interested me at that time.”
After graduating from BCU, Mark worked at Jaguar Land Rover for almost two decades.
There, he was involved in several exciting initiatives, from leading a project that resulted in a car being able to brake automatically if a collision is imminent, to being part of a team that introduced autonomous vehicles that drive themselves based on a pre-determined route.
His work has been recognised nationally, paving the way for the development of self-driving cars and even leading to an appearance on the BBC’s The One Show.
“It was scary, demonstrating with a beast of a Land Rover with two obstacles live on TV, but it was a lot of fun,” he said.
Nowadays, Mark is Technical Lead in Control and Automation at Komatsu Mining, a Worcester- based company producing the next generation of mining equipment.
“In this industry, you are always learning something because what you’re setting out to do essentially hasn’t yet been done,” said Mark.
“In my current role, I’m doing so much that I’ve never done before, but that’s what keeps me going, always learning something new and discovering new ways of doing stuff.
“In engineering, you have to get comfortable with the discomfort. Solving problems is the job, so you have to deal with not knowing everything all the time.”
After accepting his BCU accolade during a ceremony for graduating students in the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Mark offered advice to anyone looking to follow in his footsteps.
“More than anything, be authentic,” he said. “You can’t change who you are, so embrace where you’ve come from and who you have become.”