Engineering graduates try to prevent injury at work

The Coventry University spin-out company, Feraru Dynamics, now has an international supply chain and has launched the first real-time proactive wearable technology to help people maintain resilience in the face of hazardous exposure to vibration, with the aim of preventing Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) in the workplace. 

The seeds of Andrei’s entrepreneurial idea were sown during a placement with Rolls-Royce Aerospace, which he secured in the second year of his Mechanical Engineering degree course at Coventry University. 

He said: “Rolls-Royce offered me a graduate position and a clear path to advance in what I considered a dream engineering career when I first came to Coventry. I learned a lot on my placement, and when I was visiting one of the manufacturing facilities, I observed processes that involved manual handling of vibrating equipment, which got me thinking about the causes and impact of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome.  

“It was clear to me right away that there was an opportunity for improvement and I spent the last few months of my placement researching and understanding HAVS. I proposed an improvement idea that involved prototyping a device that could measure human hand exposure to vibration in real time and I started my individual project in my final year at Coventry University. The project was receiving support from people at both Rolls-Royce and Coventry University. A lot of people were telling me this was a spin-out opportunity, so I asked my brother for support and together we thought out a business plan to rise to the challenge.’’

Andrei’s journey to securing a placement with the world-renowned Rolls-Royce and eventually setting up his own business started with a foundation degree at Coventry University College (CUC) in 2013, followed by his Mechanical Engineering degree at Coventry University.  

He says choosing to go to Coventry University, which is where he met his wife and the mother of his child, was one of the most crucial decisions he has ever made. 

He said: “Moving to Coventry to study was probably the most important choice I took as a young adult. I was very grateful for all the resources I had access to while I was a student here. From great engineering minds like Bill Dunn, to fantastic books at the library and competitive, healthy and friendly relationships with my peers, all those factors shaped me and got me to where I am today. 

“My brother, Vlad, also graduated in the same year as me with a Media Production degree from Coventry University. We both loved our time at Coventry University and we founded Feraru Dynamics Limited together in 2018.”