After being named Student of the Year for completing an outstanding second year at De Montfort University (DMU) Leicester, Ilya Smut has been shortlisted for a national award.

The Cyber Security BSc (Hons) student was singled out by his tutors as the best second year student on his course, after averaging a mark of 87 and for being highly engaged in other university activities.

Ilya’s dedication to his studies has also been recognised by the Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec). His DMU accolade has landed him in the shortlist for the Fred Piper Award, alongside exceptional peers from universities across the UK. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony taking place in Bristol tomorrow (26 November).

The 21-year-old from Belarus said: “I’m really happy to be shortlisted. I think it shows that if you actually do the work that your tutors expect you to do, without trying to find work-arounds, then you can actually succeed.”

Currently five months into a year-long work placement as a software undergraduate at Jaguar Land Rover, Ilya is enjoying putting into real-world practice what he’s learned on his degree so far.

While Ilya will have the valuable chance to rotate around different departments during his placement year, he has started in the cyber security team, where his wide-ranging responsibilities include developing and testing software used in the brand’s luxury vehicles.

“Thanks to my degree, it hasn’t felt like I’m learning the job from scratch,” said Ilya. “For example, I understand the terminology used in meetings and I have the technical skills to do a lot of the tasks.

“At the same time, I’m learning a lot of new things, which is great. As placement students we also get training every two months on specific subjects like brand protection, and it all helps in building our understanding of how the big corporate world works.”

Ilya attributes securing his placement to two main DMU factors – support from the Careers Team and the university’s block teaching approach, which allows students to focus on one subject at a time with more regular assessments and a better study‑life balance.

He said: “My faculty placement team is amazing. I applied to 10 jobs before asking for their help, and I knew from how they made my CV so much better, that I wouldn’t get any of those jobs. They helped me with my covering letter and interview prep as well.

“As an international student, I had a lot of additional legal stuff like visas that I needed to figure out too, and it was so good having a team who could guide me and give me concrete answers.

“I also think block teaching is an advantage when applying for placements. You usually have to start applying mid-way through your second year, but thanks to block you already have completed modules that you can use to showcase your dedication and knowledge.

“Having experienced ‘traditional’ teaching at DMU during my Engineering and Computing International Year Zero, I personally like block teaching more. With seven-week long blocks, you actually get a lot more feedback from tutors, which is a really helpful way to track your progress.”

While Ilya had offers to study at a number of other universities in the UK, DMU caught his attention for being named a gold standard Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education’ by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Ilya was also attracted to the strong course content, which includes foundational topics in cyber security such as secure coding, penetration testing, and digital forensics, as well as core subjects like cryptography and its applications at algorithmic and protocol levels, malware attacks, and the integration of AI with cyber security.

He said: “The NCSC endorsement really impressed me and I also liked the look of DMU’s campus. I’m very happy with my decision to study at DMU. Leicester is a nice city, less expensive than others, plus there’s a great choice of student accommodation on campus.

“Our tutors give us lots of support too and I’m just really grateful to DMU for providing me with so many opportunities, like my first paid job as a student ambassador and the chance to go on course-related trips.

“As an international student, I’ve always felt involved and welcome.”