University of Ulster first year engineering students were praised by a local industry expert during a competition final held on the Jordanstown campus.
Judge, Mr Joe Lawn, a senior engineer with B/E Aerospace, Kilkeel, was “incredibly impressed by the quality of work that has been carried out by first-year student engineers at the University of Ulster".
Among the challenges set for the teams competing in the event were designing a chassis for a Formula racing car and also designing an aerodynamic skin.
Mr Lawn said: “The high standard of all the displays and the practical solutions delivered has made it very hard to select the winners.
“Everyone has performed brilliantly and I hope many of you will join me at B/E Aerospace in the years to come.”
The competition began in December of last year,whenthe240student engineers were arranged into28teams and each team had to work on an engineering problem appropriate to their course.
On Friday, April 19, the28teamspresented their results for evaluation by teams of assessors involving academic staff from the School of Engineering and three assessors from industry–Mr Lawn from B/EAerospace, Kilkeel, Mr Dave Bothwell from AES Power, Kilroot and Mr Thomas Brady from Heartsine, Belfast.
The day was organised into four competitions appropriate to the range of courses provided by the School of Engineering– two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
Team prize money of400 for first place and £200 for second within each competition, was provided by the following sponsoring companies:
AES Power, Kilroot; B/E Aerospace, Kilkeel; Elite Electronic Systems, Enniskillen; Heartsine, Belfast; Intelesens, Belfast and Terex Corporation, Omagh.
All sponsoring companies have well-established relationships with the School of Engineering and participate annually in the Industrial Placement Programme.
“This competition is of great benefit to University of Ulster student engineers and also sponsoring companies,” Mr Ronald Laird, competition organiser and Industrial Placement Co-ordinator for the School of Engineering, said.
“It gives our young engineers the opportunity to solve a real engineering problem, work as part of a team, develop self esteem and address the full range of issues from design to production.
“These experiences will help build their CV when they come to apply for Industrial Placement next year.
“For sponsoring companies, involvement with the competition and our student engineers raises their profile as an employer of choice, and allows them to see for themselves the talent and capabilities of University of Ulster student engineers.
“It also helps develop a useful two-way relationship with the University.”
The four competitions were as follows:
1/Mechanical Engineering – teams had to design a chassis for a Formula Student racing car.
Winner: Team D12
Runner up: Team J123
2/Electronic Engineering – teams had to develop a sensor system suitable for use is a Formula Student racing car.
Winner: Team F24
Runner up: Team T12
3/Engineering Design – teams had to design an aerodynamic skin for an existing car frame.
Winner: Team L12
Runner up: Team M34
4/Biomedical Engineering – teams had to design a body sensor system to fit to the driver of the racing car.
Winner: Team W34
Runner up: Team Y34
Typical of comments received from teams was the following: “It was a great experience for us to have as a group in terms of team work and practical activities not to mention how much of an eye opener it was when managing projects likes this.
“All-in-all it was fantastic.”