Dr Nadimul Faisal

Any tips for staff looking to share your career success?

Collaborate with your colleagues, here and at other universities. Get advice from professionals in your field of study and network with people.

RGU is a nice place to work. There are a lot of opportunities around in the north-east region of Scotland. All you have to do is explore the opportunities and connect with people.

Tell us about some of your career achievements

So far, my promotion to Reader. I’ve made significant contributions to research and teaching at RGU. My career success thus far is underpinned by an ability to attract research funding, contract research and industrial consultancies, and I have good experience in leading research projects and teams. I’ve published a book chapter, 57 peer-reviewed journals, 15 peer-reviewed conference proceedings, 33 conference contributions and several technical commercial reports.

As part of my wider experimental research, I look at corrosion monitoring for oil and gas applications and neutron diffraction of engineering materials. I’m also the Advanced Materials Research Group Lead and Research Degree Coordinator at the School of Engineering.

I’m also proud of my start-up company d.FL which looks into digitising process handling, which will include recording, extracting and analysing vast quantities of digital data. The uses are extensive and include assessing the conditions of airport/helipad/flight deck runway surfaces for safety. We’ve taken it through the RGU Startup Accelerator Programme to great success.

And of course, a very important one, is looking at collaboration and networking with companies and other researchers. Some of the companies I’ve worked with include AquaMoor Ltd, Corrosion RADAR Ltd, Combined Pumps ltd, SMS Oilfield Ltd, The Stab-in-Pipe Ltd, Xi Engineering Consultants Ltd, Sustainable Urban Energy Ltd, Emzie Ltd, Turtle Pack Ltd, Saudi Aramco and Subsea7.

I have an extensive research network with my collaborators from the UK, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia. My vast past collaborations include work with the University of Aberdeen, the University of Nottingham, Heriot-Watt University, Cranfield University, Northumbria University, the University of Surrey, Trinity College Dublin, the Science and Technology Facilities Council, Alfaisal University, the Birla Institute of Technology, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the London South Bank University, the Technical University of Ostrava and Queen’s University of Belfast.

I’ve also collaborated with Scottish innovation centres such as OGIC, CENSIS and Interface.

What’s the drive behind your success?

I have a drive to contribute to the university and collaborate with my colleagues, both inside and outside RGU, and within other companies and universities.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Yes, I’ve developed a variety of teaching and research facilities at the university. For example, for vibration dynamics, materials preparation, corrosion, condition monitoring, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, solid oxide fuel cell, thermal conductivity, instrumented pressurised vessel and adhesive bond testing. These facilities are also used in various commercialisation activities.

I’m happy to talk with colleagues who are interested in my work and are looking for advice on progression.

The next steps in your career progression

Explore opportunities to progress your career with your line manager. There are many examples of career paths from staff across the university on the Sharing Success webpage from which you can draw inspiration and ideas. Information on the latest application window can also be found on the Sharing Success webpage.

The HR team is on hand to offer advice about progressing your career. You may also find it helpful to speak to your colleagues who have already taken the steps you intend to take on their career paths.