A prosthetics and special effects student has landed roles with both the Ambulance Service and the British military.
Southampton Solent University student Katie Upton secured dual employment through her expertise in moulage, the craft of creating realistic simulated wounds for training purposes.
A final-year BA (Hons) Prosthetics and Special Effects Design student, Ms Upton spent the past year focusing on the highly specialised field of moulage, which supports professional medical training in realism and preparedness.
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Ms Upton said: "I contacted around 50 different companies for work experience.
"It's a very niche area, so I didn't think many would respond.
"But I was very lucky to hear back from South East Coast Ambulance Service, London Ambulance Service, the Royal College of Surgeons, and the major trauma hospitals in London."
She first became interested in the field during her second year, crediting a professional application module with helping her clarify her strengths and ambitions.
Ms Upton said: "It pushed all of us to actually get ourselves into the industry.
"I was quite quiet, not confident in myself.
"But then I did the work experience and I thought: this isn't as scary as it looks."
Determined to gain hands-on experience, she spent the summer supporting ambulance crew training and teaching clinical staff how specialist prosthetics could strengthen emergency response simulations.
The ambulance services she worked with noticed the difference and asked her to come back as a paid professional.
Her interest in moulage also led her to approach organisations supporting military medical training, despite initial warnings about security clearance barriers.
Several months later, she was offered a paid position creating prosthetics and simulated injuries for combat trauma training.
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Her work now supports emergency preparedness at both UK bases and international locations, sometimes for extended deployments.
Part of the job's meaning is personal, her mother is a director of midwifery and deputy chief nurse for the NHS, and her father served in the army from the age of 16 to 27.
Solent University’s prosthetics and special effects course combines creative practice with professional application, preparing students for careers across film, television, theatre, and industries far beyond.
By placing employability, adaptability and real-world experience at the heart of every degree, Southampton Solent University is positioning itself at the forefront of a new model of higher education, one that puts students' futures first.
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