To create more equitable engineering education, it is essential to understand the adversity faced by students due to their socio-economic status; the impact it has on their academic journey, and how to adapt to overcome it. An aim of the EUniWell "Maximising Academic and Social Outcomes in Engineering Education" (MASOEE) project is to understand student disadvantage and its effect on engineering skill and identity development across 3 European universities. This multiphase, mixed-method research explored the association between adversity through parental education and adaptability through academic self-concept, utilising data from a structured questionnaire and 1-to-1 interviews. We found that students who are first generation in their family to attend university is a common indicator of adversity, and that, on average, their self-concept specific academic skills – communication, networking, and entrepreneurial resourcefulness – is lower compared to other students. The thematic analysis of the 1-to-1 interviews reveals 5 recurrent themes when discussing academic resilience and success with students: social factors, networking, extra-curricular skills development, skill confidence and improvement, and engineering identity fluidity. The findings add to previous research, and the need to develop targeted interventions around these uncovered themes.