Engineering Students' Success and Outreach Activities at University of Strathclyde, Essays (high school) of Marketing

Download Engineering Students' Success and Outreach Activities at University of Strathclyde and more Essays (high school) Marketing in PDF only on Docsity! www.strath.ac.uk/engineering @StrathEng Engineering Issue 25, Student Success & Outreach Edition, Summer 2018 02 Medal Wins for Talented Engineering Students at Commonwealth Games 13 Faculty Students Continue to Impress with Award Wins 03 Outreach Activities Encourage More School Children in STEM 1 engineering insight [ Student Success & Outreach Edition - Issue 25 ] Contents Faculty of Engineering University of Strathclyde Room 603 James Weir Building 75 Montrose Street Glasgow, G1 1XJ t: +44 (0)141 548 2749 e: eng-enquiries@strath.ac.uk twitter: @StrathEng Web: www.strath.ac.uk/engineering The University of Strathclyde is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, number SC015263. Faculty Office Contacts Faculty Manager Dr Gayle Wilson gayle.wilson@strath.ac.uk Head of International Development & Recruitment Stuart Shorthouse stuart.j.shorthouse@strath.ac.uk Faculty Officer (Academic) Stephanie McNulty s.mcnulty@strath.ac.uk Faculty Officer (Engagement & Outreach) Natalie McNee natalie.mcnee@strath.ac.uk Faculty Officer (International) Robert Graham robert.graham@strath.ac.uk Faculty Officer (Research & Knowledge Exchange) Carol Brady c.brady@strath.ac.uk 02 Double Medal Success at Commonwealth Games from Talented Engineering Students 03 Outreach 13 Student Success 29 Successful Alumnus Professor Atilla Incecik Associate Principal and Executive Dean Faculty of Engineering Marketing & Events Coordinator Annabel Anderson annabel.anderson@strath.ac.uk Administrator Mary Cunningham mary.cunningham@strath.ac.uk Assistant Faculty Officer Craig McMurray craig.mcmuray@strath.ac.uk Administrator Samantha Meechan samantha.meechan@strath.ac.uk Dean’s Executive Assistant Chelsea Coulter chelsea.coulter@strath.ac.uk Modern Apprentice Holly Innes holly.innes@strath.ac.uk Modern Apprentice Chloe Irvine chloe.irvine@strath.ac.uk Advisor, Strathclyde Engineering for Development Christine Donald christine.donald@strath.ac.uk ■ Largest Faculty of Engineering in Scotland and one of the largest in the UK ■ Seven subjects ranked in the top 10 in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2019 ■ Over 40 undergraduate programmes on offer and over 40 postgraduate programmes on offer ■ Research portfolio of £100 million and growing ■ Over 5,500 engineering students of over 100 nationalities ■ State-of-the-art laboratory and research facilities Discover more about the Faculty of Engineering 4 Outreach Astronaut Suni Williams helped the pupils with their rocket designs workshop which was held at the University the week following Space School. Following the workshop, 10 pupils were selected for this year’s Learning Journey to Houston which will take place from 19-28 October and which will include a visit to the Johnson Space Center. With over 1500 pupils having attended the Scottish Space School @ Strathclyde summer school since 2004, the programme continues to grow in popularity and has been instrumental in inspiring pupils from all across Scotland to consider careers in Science, Technology, Engineeering and Maths. Outreach 5 engineering insight [ Student Success & Outreach Edition - Issue 25 ] Faculty’s Outreach Programmes Win Top Prize at Inaugural Game Changer Awards Strathclyders scooped a trio of awards at a ceremony to celebrate innovation, with one of the prizes being awarded for the Faculty of Engineering’s work to influence school pupils into a career in Engineering. The inaugural Global Game Changers Awards, presented by The Herald, in partnership with Innovators Magazine, took place in the Glasgow Science Centre. The awards are made to organisations and individuals which recognise and support innovation, cultural change and sustainability and are designed to promote meaningful shifts in culture towards a more open, sustainable and innovative future for the global economy. Strathclyde won the Innovation in STEM Education/Training award for the Faculty of Engineering’s range of initiatives to interest young people in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. One of the most successful programmes is the Faculty’s Scottish Space School, an annual week-long residential course for S5 pupils which offers lectures, labs and workshops from a range of Departments in the Faculty and regularly features appearances by NASA astronauts and engineers. Since its inception more than a decade ago, the Space School has been attended by well over 1500 pupils, more than half of whom have gone on to work in engineering, science and technology. Following the programme running in June of this year, 10 of the pupils who attended are now getting ready to go on the annual Learning Journey to visit NASA in Houston, Texas in October to learn more about careers in engineering and science. The Scottish Space School is just one of the Faculty’s outreach programmes for school pupils. The Faculty has also Marianne Ballantyne and Annabel Anderson from the Faculty of Engineering were presented with the award for the Scottish Space School recently launched the new Young WEIR- WISE: Discovering Engineering with S2 Girls programme, which welcomed 52 S2 girls to the Faculty for a two day programme. The programme is run in partnership with the Weir Group. As well as taking the Innovation in STEM Education/Training award, Dr Holly Butler, a Research Associate in Strathclyde’s Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, won the Women in Innovation award and the Circular Breakthrough prize went to 3f bio, a spinout company involved in the sustainable production of food protein. Strathclyde Engineering alumna Vicky Hamilton, who graduated from the Department of Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management in 2013, was also commended in the Young Pioneers category for her company VH Innovation, which produces personal protective equipment for the construction industry. 6 Outreach Schoolgirls Discover Engineering on Young Weir Wise Programme Schoolgirls from all across Scotland took part in a new engineering outreach programme run by the Faculty of Engineering and funded by the Weir Group. The Young Weir Wise: Discovering Engineering with S2 Girls programme saw 52 S2-aged pupils from 42 schools across Scotland taking part in a series of activities aimed at inspiring young female students to consider a career in the field. The non-residential, two-day programme involved a variety of team-based challenges, including designing a water filter and creating a nanopolymer bouncy ball. Staff from the Weir Group were also in attendance throughout the programme, to discuss their own careers and assist the pupils with their activities. Professor Rebecca Lunn MBE from the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering said: “The girls are given a fantastic opportunity to experience exciting engineering challenges and to discover face-to-face why professional female engineers are passionate about their jobs. Societal expectations often lead girls to give up maths and physics at an early age, yet evidence shows that girls are equally talented. “If we can inspire them to choose these subjects at National 5 and beyond, we are creating an opportunity for a new generation of women to study engineering that would otherwise be lost.” Rosemary McGinness, Chief People Officer for the Weir Group said: “Women continue to be under-represented in engineering professions and that is something we aim to change by inspiring young girls to choose a path towards an engineering career.” The Faculty of Engineering runs a number of outreach programmes, including the Scottish Space School, Headstart and Engineering the Future for Girls. 9 T he Headstart outreach programme ran for the eighteenth year at Strathclyde, with the 16-17 year old pupils experiencing the wide range of engineering disciplines on offer in the Faculty. It is a well-established Engineering Development Trust (EDT) educational programme and runs in over 30 universities throughout the UK. The pupils stay in University accommodation throughout the week, and participate in a number of practical activities, lectures, talks and company visits. The week is designed to give the pupils a taster of the different types of engineering that are on offer for them to study – with many of them admitting that they were unaware just quite how many engineering options were available to them. During the week the pupils participated in projects delivered by four of the Faculty’s departments, and they were given the opportunity to visit and get tours of two departments of their choice. This provided an opportunity for them to talk to staff and students in departments to get as much information as possible about the different disciplines of engineering and undergraduate programmes available before they make their UCAS choices in the year ahead. The pupils focused on one large project throughout the week, the Ro-Ro Project, which is hosted by staff and students from the Department of Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management (DMEM). The pupils worked in groups of four to design and build a barge style structure powered by a falling brick which drives a propulsion mechanism. At the end of the week, the very varied designs competed against each other in the Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering’s (NAOME) engineering insight [ Student Success & Outreach Edition - Issue 25 ] hydrodynamics tank to see which barge would go furthest. Following their hard work, and some amendments to their designs after their testing session on the Thursday morning, many of the teams surprised themselves at how far their structures travelled during the competition – with the winning team travelling the full length of the tank twice! The pupils enjoyed a project with the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering where they built virtual reality headsets, making use of their smart phones, which they then used to monitor space debris. In the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering they explored an application of sludgy engineering. A sludge is a mixture of solid and liquid. Some sludges, like cornflour and water (also known as oobleck), are non-Newtonian materials. When hit with force, oobleck resists the force, but when allowed to relax it flows smoothly. Aside from being fun to make, fluids with these unusual properties can be used as protection in a range of applications, including space, footwear and liquid body armour. To explore this idea, pupils prepared different cornflour and water mixtures and tested to see if they could protect an egg dropped from a height. As well as keeping them busy during the day the three student mentors who stayed on campus with them for the week organised evening activities for the group, including a quiz, spending time in the sports centre, and an egg drop challenge – which the group were able to work on outside in the Rottenrow Gardens due to the lovely sunny weather during the week. The week culminated Outreach Faculty’s Headstart Programme Inspires Future Engineers from Across the UK The pupils tested their structures in our hydrodynamics tank 10 Outreach They worked with the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering to detect space debris ReallySmallScience Travels to Colombia With funding from the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow, the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering’s outreach group, ReallySmallScience travelled across the Atlantic, to the city of Barranquilla in Colombia. In cooperation with SENA Atlantico – the Barranquilla branch of the Colombian nationwide training institution - PhD student Ruben Rosario delivered hands on workshops to over 300 college students to provide them with a personalised engineering experience while promoting gender equality and widening access in the chemical engineering field. The project aimed at raising awareness of science and engineering, and specifically chemical and process engineering, with a focus on students from the most deprived areas in Barranquilla. This project also had an additional objective to tackle local gender inequality in STEM courses, by promoting positive role models of women and demystifying the common idea that an industrial setting is not a suitable workplace for women. Making use of the ReallySmallScience group’s vast experience in science outreach, the workshops focused on explaining what engineering is and how it can contribute to our day-to- day lives, as well as providing the participants with hands on-activities to develop their knowledge about, for example, polymers, gels and foams. The workshops also provided direct experience of engineering, covering ideas such as process development, production in large scale and end-user applications. Overall the project was received with enthusiasm by the participants and proved to be effective in building their knowledge about engineering and changing positively the participants’ idea of women working in an engineering context. with a final night dinner at a local restaurant. The week received positive feedback from the pupils involved, with 97% of them rating the week as good or excellent. Many commented that it has confirmed their decision to study engineering, with 95% of the pupils commenting that the Headstart week has helped in their decision making on what to study at University, after introducing them to several engineering disciplines that they never knew even existed, and giving them more information on the ones they were already considering. 11 engineering insight [ Student Success & Outreach Edition - Issue 25 ] Outreach Interconnect Project Week Unites Engineering Students Across Glasgow I n April 2018, Strathclyde’s Interconnect Society and FemEng (Glasgow University’s Female Engineering Society) organised a collaborative, educational, week-long project to upskill female engineers. The first of its kind student-led initiative was open to engineering students from the University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian University. The project week aimed to support female engineers by providing participants with the opportunity to develop their technical knowledge and soft skills, from engineering design to planning, permitting and community engagement, and to showcase expertise and facilitate networking with leading female professionals from industry and academia. The Project Week could tackle any topic which bridges the many facets of engineering, and so this year selected to focus on the topic of renewable energy – and wind energy in particular. The project ran in April and there were 15 participants in total (seven female) representing mechanical, product design, aerospace, civil engineering and civil and environmental engineering undergraduate streams, with a mix of UK and international students. The students formed four teams, where possible mixing up students from different degree programmes, years of study, and institutions. The task for each team? Designing a wind farm. Over the first four days participants received semi-structured guidance from nine expert mentors, all women working in STEM representing the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, SSE, Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, and Mott MacDonald. These mentoring sessions, held alternately at Strathclyde and Glasgow University, offered the students insight into technical design aspects, wind resource assessment, siting and energy yield, social and environmental impacts, project management, planning and budgeting. The groups were encouraged to consider these factors in the selection of their site (from six pre-determined locations) and in their project design. On the final day, following a networking lunch at SSE’s Glasgow office, the groups presented their wind farm proposal to a judging panel comprised of four mentors. The designs put forward by the student groups were superb. Each team impressed the audience with their consideration of a broad range of challenges and innovative ideas in tackling social and environmental concerns and energy storage. The quality of work and creativity was outstanding, particularly given the need for team members to juggle time demands (such as jobs, coursework, and – of course – hefty exam preparation) and for participants to stretch beyond the boundaries of their own engineering specialisms. Despite tough competition, the winning team stood out by exceeding the judges’ expectations in a broad range of criteria, displaying a detailed understanding of wind farm technology and its challenges, and demonstrating high quality presentation and collaborative skills. The winning team were awarded £100 from Equate Scotland and offered the opportunity to participate in work experience days at Mott MacDonald. The week had brought together engineering students from University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian University, brought together women working in STEM subjects related to wind farm engineering, and had brought together students and professionals. The student participants enjoyed the week, reporting that they valued the chance to deepen and broaden applied cross-disciplinary knowledge, collaborate with students of other disciplines, be creative, and gain insight into the skills diversity within engineering professionals. The 2018 Interconnect Project Week was financially supported by Equate Scotland, FemEng, SSE and the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow. Interconnect Student Champions, Hannah Houston and Brogan Gauld, who developed the idea for - and organised – the Project Week 14 Student Success engineering through global collaboration and a career in future power or energy innovation. “I am focused on harnessing my full academic, professional and personal potential and this award will help me achieve my goals by helping to fund professional qualifications, international study and attending learning and development events.” Marnie has secured internships with Atkins which will result in her joining the company upon graduation and she is an active student member of several professional bodies, including the Institution of Engineering & Technology, Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Women in Science & Engineering. She said: “I have relished summer placements within the Power Sector of Atkins and have been inspired at Energy- related conferences, including the recent IET’s Renewable Energies Conference in Wuhan, China. Networking with Engineers has sparked particular interest in the need for alternative methods of energy production and importantly, innovation.” Marnie during her time in Singapore 15 Strathclyde Students Triumph on University Challenge engineering insight [ Student Success & Outreach Edition - Issue 25 ] A team of University Of Strathclyde students, including two Engineering students, qualified for the second round of BBC Two quiz show University Challenge, after winning their first televised contest. The students won 145-125 against Imperial College London in the first round match. They displayed their knowledge of subjects including prime numbers, metaphysical poetry, ancient Greek literature and international football as they faced the questions from quizmaster Jeremy Paxman. The team comprised: Captain Alasdair Logan, studying Mechanical Engineering; Paul Dijkman, studying Economics; James Flannigan, studying Chemical Engineering and PGDE student Ian Brown. Their reserve was Francis Berryman, studying Immunology and Microbiology. Following their appearance Alasdair said: “My teammates and I were really excited for everyone at the University to see our appearance on the programme. We’ve all worked very hard on making it onto the first round and the whole experience – so far – has really paid off. “The support we’ve received from students and University staff has been incredible, and certainly shows the immense pride that people have towards us and the University.” Alasdair answered 16 questions correctly on a range of subjects including literature, botany and art criticism. The 110-point haul of points he acquired was enough for the team to defeat Imperial College by 145-125, despite the team from London leading by more than 60 points at one stage. The victory was rounded off by Alasdair correctly answering three bonus questions on the 2016 football European Championships. Student Success Calvin Hepburn, Strathclyde Students’ Union President, said: “The team provided an exciting start to the new academic year and really amplified the community spirit across campus. Their work has not only enhanced the Strathclyde experience for many students, but it’s also shows the hard work and dedication that comes from students within the University.” The team was selected through a challenging individual test, hosted by the University of Strathclyde Students’ Union. Before appearing upon the programme, the team went through a rigorous selection process involving tests and an interview. The producers then chose Strathclyde as one of only 28 teams to reach the televised stages in Manchester, from around 130 applicant institutions. This is the fourth time that the University of Strathclyde has reached this stage of the quiz. 16 Student Success Architecture Masters Student Wins Special Commendation for Honours Dissertation The City Of Glasgow Eimear Kelt Medal for Architecture 2017 Awarded to Strathclyde Student P aschalis Kyrtsopoulos, a graduate from the MArch in Advanced Architectural Design, was awarded the City of Glasgow Eimear Kelt Medal for his project a ‘Scottish Youth Parliament’. This medal is awarded yearly by a panel of professional judges on behalf of Glasgow City Council, to the best project produced by the Department of Architecture at the University of Strathclyde. It is made in memory of Eimear Kelt, who was one of the most important Scottish architects of her generation until her death in 2007. Paschalis was presented with the medal at an award ceremony in the Satinwood Suite in Glasgow City Chambers. Paschalis’ project for a Scottish Youth Parliament and Ministry for Education “promotes interaction and growth within our communities”. T he Jonathan Sime Award recognises a significant contribution to the field of people-environment research in an undergraduate dissertation. This prestigious annual award is open to all undergraduate students attending a British University. The award panel seeks applications which clearly exhibit originality of thought, quality of research and reflects Jonathan’s interests in people-environment relationships. Nada Shehab from the Department of Architecture at Strathclyde, has won the second prize (the special commendation) for this award for her dissertation on Migration: The Socio-Spatial Practices of Migrant Communities in Urban Environments. Environmental psychology or people-environment studies explore the transactions between people – both individuals and groups – and their physical setting; it gives a prominent place to environmental perceptions, attitudes, evaluations and representations and accompanying behaviour. Environmental psychology focuses on both the effects of environmental conditions on behaviour and how the individual perceives and acts on the environment. The project relates to the deconstruction and simplification of the political system in Scotland which will allow residents to access the decision making process and be part of a wider system of local governments. The devolution suggested in this project is based on the examples of direct democracy and local governments of Switzerland, Netherlands and Canada. This project focuses on the example of Glasgow which has the largest tradition and population of students in Scotland. It is apparent that it is the most suitable place to locate the Ministry of Education which will not only be a building of offices, but a place for democratic discussions, where the Scottish Youth Parliament will operate. The term ‘democratic discussion’ is examined through the lenses of individual-group-collective and is the key focus for the design of the building. This project also won the RIAS Rowand Anderson Silver Medal for best fifth year project. Selecting three countries, Scotland, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates, as case studies to demonstrate highly diverse mobility patterns and compare urban responses to the different magnitudes of influx of migrants, Nada’s dissertation offers a perceptive understanding of the socio-spatial practices of migrant communities and assesses the impact of displaced populations on the urban areas they occupy and vice versa. Raising attention to spatial injustice, Nada’s work investigates the role of urban practitioners in developing responsive solutions to the challenges of spatial segregation and its impact on infrastructure and local communities. Nada and her award 19 University Students Battled For Place in Robot Wars TV Show engineering insight [ Student Success & Outreach Edition - Issue 25 ] A pair of engineering students tested their mettle as they battled in the hope to compete on TV show Robot Wars. George Foster, an Electronic and Electrical Engineering student at Strathclyde and Sean McGhee, an Aeronautical Engineering student at the University of Glasgow, competed to feature on the new series of the show with their own battle bot. They showcased their robot – called Vortex – at an Extreme Robots Live event in Gloucester in October. Former Rosshall Academy student George, who is originally from Gloucester, has been an avid fan of the show since childhood and was the principal designer of the robot. He said: “When I heard about the new series being commissioned I just had to apply. I’ve been working on my design for the last 18 months and so far, have spent about £6,000 on it collectively as a team.” George, who joined Strathclyde via the Faculty’s Engineering Academy initiative, which sees students study for an enhanced HNC at a partner college before joining the second year of a degree programme, also received help from his lecturers and the Department’s technical teams. “I had built the frame and the gearboxes and when I asked the year head if I could pay to use the University’s machinery to make the robot’s weapon he said no, they would do it for free. “There’s no way I could have made this robot if it hadn’t been for the subject I’m studying and the help I’ve received from academics at the University. Now, I’d really like to go into robotics after I graduate.” Student Success Striking to look at, Vortex is also formidable on paper: the one metre by 75cm by 55cm robot weighs 110kg, can travel at up to 13mph and is made of Hardox, an abrasion resistant tempered steel commonly used for digger and excavator buckets. Its weapon – a spinning disc or flywheel – took 12 hours to cut using a high-pressure water jet cutter in Strathclyde’s Department of Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management. The flywheel spins at a speed of 257mph and features a tooth that is designed to flip competitor’s machines weighing up to 110kgs six feet into the air. The team had a great weekend in Gloucester, competing with three other robots, including the reigning live circuit champion Manta, which eventually immobilised Vortex. As they wait for the television show to return to their screens, the team currently are entering a tournament with a lower weight division robot which is in partnership with the Chinese TV equivalent of Robot Wars at the end of August. George recently graduated from his undergraduate programme, and in September will be beginning an MSc in 5G Advanced Communications at Strathclyde. 20 Student Success Strathclyde Energy Scholarship Winners Receive Awards at International Royal Ceremony A group of Strathclyde University students selected for a prestigious ScottishPower Foundation scholarship programme aimed at creating the future generation of energy experts formally received their awards at an international royal ceremony. The ScottishPower Foundation, the charitable arm of the energy provider, supported 27 British graduates during the 2017-18 session at leading universities by funding their enrolment fees and living allowances so that they can concentrate on pursuing careers in the fields of energy and the environment. The scholarships were delivered at seven of the UK’s most prestigious institutions, with Strathclyde being one. A group of 11 of the British scholarship winners were flown to the headquarters of ScottishPower’s parent company Ibedrola in Madrid in November for an award ceremony also attended by fellow scholarship winners from Spain, the USA, Mexico and Brazil. Five students from Strathclyde - Darren Moran and Jack Haynes who have now graduated from the MEng Electronic and Electrical Engineering with International Study programme, Matthew Craven, who has also now graduated from the MEng Electronic and Electrical Engineering programme, Calum Love from the MSc Sustainable Engineering: Renewable Energy Systems and the Environment programme, and Rebecca Robertson from the MSc in Data Analytics, were among the scholarship winners who made the trip. The scholars were presented their awards by Ibedrola’s chairman, Ignacio Galan, and Ramón Castresana Sanchez, Director of the Iberdrola’s foundations committee, before they were received by King Felipe of Spain at a reception held at the Palacio de la Zarzuela. Since its inception in 2010, the ScottishPower Foundation has invested more than £1.5 million supporting 80 students in postgraduate masters degrees focusing on a range of specialisms from renewable and sustainable energy systems to clean combustion technologies, electric vehicles, and smart distribution networks. This year, in recognition of an increase in demand for new technology roles within the industry, the programme has also incorporated degrees such as information & communication technology (ICT), cybersecurity and big data management. Ann McKechin, Trustee and Executive Officer of the ScottishPower Foundation, who attended the event, said: “We are delighted to support this group of very bright young people who we hope will be future leaders in the energy sector and the ScottishPower Foundation is committed to helping the advancement of their education through practical support.” One of the Strathclyde scholarship holders, Calum Love commented; “Having the privilege and opportunity to travel to Madrid in order to be presented with the scholarship will go down as one of the highlights of my university career. Besides having the opportunity to mingle with other scholars from across the globe and gaining their thoughts and views on the sustainability, it was a privilege to hear the inspiring words of Iberdrola CEO, Ignacio Galan, and have a reminder of the importance and recognition, the work that all the scholars and Iberdrola are doing. “To top the trip off, it was an honour to have the strong recognition from the King of Spain, it more than highlights and reminds us of the importance and the level of challenges that all the scholars are dedicating their lives to tackling.” 21 Strathclyde Students Compete against Teams from 24 Countries in Shell Eco-Marathon engineering insight [ Student Success & Outreach Edition - Issue 25 ] Shell Eco-Marathon is one of the world’s leading energy efficiency competitions. Students are challenged to design, build and test energy-efficient cars, pushing the boundaries of what is technically possible. Students then take their designs to the track in the Mileage Challenge to see which vehicle can compete to go the farthest on the least amount of fuel. For the second year running a team of students from Strathclyde, with the majority from the Faculty of Engineering, put in a lot of time and effort working on their own car to compete in the 2018 Eco-Marathon. The team, consisting of students from a variety of departments, travelled to London at the start of July, along with their car, ready to compete in the European leg of the competition. The team competed against 140 teams from 24 countries around Europe, on a new 970-metre, custom-built track at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, as the UK hosted the competition for the third consecutive year. “The London track is particularly challenging for all teams,” says Shanna Simmons, Shell Eco-marathon Global Technical Director. “We saw incredibly strong performance, determination and team spirit last year and expect this year’s event to be equally exciting.” The competition is one of the world’s leading energy-efficiency competitions and is designed for students who are passionate about developing innovative mobility solutions. It challenges students around the world to design, build and drive the most energy- efficient car they can. The teams use a variety of energy types, ranging from petrol and diesel, to electric batteries and hydrogen fuel cell. The Strathclyde student team worked hard on their design and build in their own time, putting in long hours and a lot of effort throughout the year. During this time the team also took their car to a number of high profile events, and gained interest from both industry and politicians alike. In May they attended the annual All Energy conference in Glasgow and caught the eye of Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, as well as Hamza Yousaf who at the time was the Scottish Government Minister for Transport and the Islands – and who tweeted his support for the team. The team goal for this year was to pass the technical inspection, which they successfully passed. Following this they were able to take their car into the track, where they were able to complete 11 laps, just short of the 15 needed to make it a valid attempt, due to some technical difficulties. The team did not leave feeling downcast though, as this was a fantastic effort when only competing for the second year. They are already looking forward to next year, where they will be working to improve their car, and aiming to do even better in the competition next year. Student Success 24 Reality, David Watt. The visit to Arup was heavily oversubscribed and twenty- two students participated with four providing an account of their reading of David’s book. Bridge Engineer Sarah Breen provided her own account of working on the design of the bridge to accompany David’s own perspectives of this landmark structure. One student who attended, highlighted how important these events are to students; “As a student that has attended a few book readings and site visits, I think events like this are very useful and further cement my desire to become a civil engineer. Studying at university alone does not give you a feel for what it could be like as a graduate, but being given a quick tour of the office definitely helps. The talk by David Watt was fascinating and gave a good insight into the Queensferry crossing project and detailed many of the engineering feats concerned. I would like to thank the people involved in making this event possible, at Arup and as always Mike, and I hope there are more like this in the future.” Both visits to the local employers also provided the students with an opportunity to partake in a tour of the engineers offices and to meet recent alumni who were able to convey to the students their role and responsibilities as graduate engineers. Thus, book reading can provide a successful and inspirational bridge to enhance the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering’s existing academic- industry partnerships and to promote scholarship through reading. The group of the participating students at Arup with author David Watt Student Success 25 engineering insight [ Student Success & Outreach Edition - Issue 25 ] Student Success Ross Gets Ready for CAD Euroskills Final in Budapest Strathclyde Scientists to Study Micro-Plastics across the Polar Ice Cap A Strathclyde PhD student is part of a team that will examine the extent of micro-plastic pollution in the arctic. Steve Allen, from the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering working under the guidance of Professor Vernon Phoenix, and a Research Assistant at the University of Toulouse, will analyse ice samples to ascertain their microplastic content. The samples will be obtained by ‘La Voie du Pôle’ expedition, a three-man team led by explorer Sébastien Roubinet which is attempting to be the first yacht to sail across the Arctic Ocean. In the tradition of early explorers, scientific enquiry forms a large part of the expedition and the team will gather ice samples as they traverse the pole. The researchers are interested in cryoconite – dust which is believed to be hastening the speed of the melting of the ice cap, mercury and micro-plastic. Mr Allen said: “Recent research is showing large amounts of plastics in the pack ice around the Arctic plateau and as a next step in understanding the extent of this pollution, the crew of La Voie Du Pôle expedition will be taking samples along their route. “This will provide us with a wealth of knowledge on how micro- plastics move and help forecast future problems.” R oss Megahy, a third year student on the BSc (Hons) Production Design & Innovation programme in the Department of Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management (DMEM), has been selected for Team UK to take part in the CAD EuroSkills Finals in Budapest in September 2018. Ross and his two CAD team mates who are from BAE Systems, will compete against teams from across Europe, as part of a larger UK squad of 22. Prior to his selection, Ross won a gold medal at WorldSkills UK in 2016 when he was studying at New College Lanarkshire. The European competition will focus on reverse engineering and problem solving, two key activities upon which the Department Dr Roman Teisserenc, the chief scientist for the expedition and researcher from Toulouse INP, said: “Until now, the Arctic Ocean has been observed from a distance by satellites. One of the unique aspects of this mission is the use of a hybrid yacht that can move across the ice just as well as it can the water. This will allow us to take samples never available before and provide unique measurement opportunities. “The expedition will show that no place on the planet escapes the pollution created by mankind – including, we believe, micro- plastics and mercury.” The team analysing the samples also includes post-doctoral researchers Dr Deonie Allen and Dr Ramya Bala Prabhakaran at Toulouse INP. of DMEM and the programmes it offers, focus. After the European competition one of the team of three will be selected to participate in the world competition in Kazan. As well as training hard for the competition, Ross is currently undertaking a summer internship in DMEM. He is looking at developing new tutorial material for solidworks teaching in DMEM and the Graduate Apprentice programme. His work will contribute to the possibility of embedding training and examinations into the courses that will lead to Solidworks proficiency certification for our students. Ross is also looking at embedding exciting new virtual and augmented reality products in the Department to be used in creative teaching and research. 26 Urban Design Student Wins National Award Engineering Students Win Top Prizes at Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Conference I n March 2018 the Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) program held the ‘VIP for Sustainable Development Conference’ with up to 200 Strathclyde students actively participating in multidisciplinary research teams across all four faculties (Engineering, Science, Business and Humanities & Social Sciences). The conference showcased research outputs from a range of VIP projects focusing on specific Sustainable Development Goal targets, at home and internationally. The projects are now aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the Global Challenges initiative. The conference was opened by the Principal, who reaffirmed his commitment to VIP and Global Challenges. The Keynote Speaker was Indranil Chakrabarti who is the new Deputy Head of DFID’s Overseas Territories Department (OTD). Also in attendance were the VIP Directors from three overseas Universities of Georgia Tech, New York University and Malmo University. All VIP students had an opportunity to demonstrate their projects at a busy poster session and there was a highly competitive Dragon’s Den event (called VIPers’ Pit ) during which members of the VIP teams were able to bid for up to £5,000 from H eather Claridge, of the MSc in Urban Design was announced the winner of the 2018 UK Young Planner of the Year at the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence in May 2018. The RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence are one of the longest running and most prestigious awards in urban planning. Heather joined Strathclyde’s Urban Design course in September 2015, participating in her studies whilst continuing to work for Glasgow City Council’s Development & Regeneration Services. Heather said: “I have gained a rich understanding about how and by what means cities should be designed to cope with the challenges and opportunities of the future. In the judges’ assessment interview, I drew on this knowledge and the confidence I have developed through the course, to successfully respond to their questions.” Overall the Judges’ said: “Heather’s passion for planning and design is reflected in the outstanding calibre of her work, studies and volunteering. Her creative use of planning to improve her community is matched by her drive to get things done. She is a fantastic ambassador for the profession across the UK.” the Alumni and Development fund to grow their projects over the next academic year. After last year’s success by the Education team, this year two teams of Engineering students were awarded £2,300 each for their work on Assessing Ground Water Resources in Malawi and Low Power Devices for cooking. The Low Power Appliances Project by Dr Scott Strachan and Dr Hannah Buckland, and students Emma Webster and Sophie Coffey from the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering won the first place prize and £2,300 from the Alumni fund. Two MSc Hydrogeology students from the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Helen Robinson and Clodagh Gillen who gave a pitch “Assessing Groundwater Resources, Quality and Uses in Southwest Malawi” to the Dragons Den event won second place runner-up and were offered £2,300 to collect samples for MSc dissertation research during their upcoming visit to Malawi. The event was closed by Professor Ed Coyle of Georgia Tech and the inventor of VIP who summarised what he had seen and awarded the prizes. Heather graduated with distinction from the course, in June 2018. However she hopes to continue working with the Urban Design Studies Unit through maintaining the collaboration with Glasgow City Council on the Urban Design Studio project and through also expanding some of her MSc thesis research which considered the role of temporary urbanism in building long-term urban resilience. Student Success 29 Two Time Graduate from Strathclyde Creates Watches with History Successful Alumnus A ward-winning watch maker Michael Youmans is a two-time graduate from the Department of Design, Manufacture & Engineering Managaement (DMEM). Following his graduation with an MSc in Product Design in 2016, Michael Youmans started his designer watch venture having been inspired by his father, who loved watches but who sadly passed away in 2015. Prior to studying for his MSc, Michael had undertaken a BSc in Product Design & Innovation, graduating with an Honours degree in 2014. Michael called his venture Fiodh which is Gaelic for wood, and the watch accessories are inspired by the natural beauty of Scotland. Michael makes all the watches and the accessories by hand and sources the materials from all over Scotland. The faces are made from vintage reclaimed whisky barrels and straps are made from Harris Tweed and Scottish leather. Each watch comes in different colour shades and grains due to the nature of the whisky barrels. Earlier this year, Michael was a winner in the Fresh Ideas 2018 competition hosted by the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE). Michael won the Creative Industries Award for his watches. Michael recognises the part his studies in DMEM have played in Fiodh. He commented; “Having studied within the Department of DMEM provided key influences in my design approach. I have developed an understanding of how to produce a product that is both sustainable in terms of its manufacture, to simplify and minimise the use of components and its use of environmental materials without compromising its aesthetic appearance. “Being innovative and thinking outside the box has enabled me to create an eye engineering insight [ Student Success & Outreach Edition - Issue 25 ] catching and intriguing product that will stand out in today’s market. DMEM has added that crucial link between both design and engineering with that important touch of bringing a product to market. “In 2017 I hit a lot of milestones from initial concept to prototyping, testing and pre-sales. In 2018 a website was created and I now have my own design studio where all parts are hand-crafted. This summer I aim to scale production by seeking manufactures within Scotland with the financial support from a kickstarter campaign. I am currently in contact with a few independent whisky distilleries to both collaborate and stock within their gift shops.” “All watches have time… ours have history,” is the tagline on Fiodh’s website, and with the scrutiny and interest on provenance, particularly with Scottish spirits, Michael agrees Fiodh’s story adds to the brand. On the business side of things he’s further teamed up with the University, taking on an undergraduate student from the Strathclyde Business School on a summer internship, to assist with marketing. “I’m a designer first and a businessman second,” he expanded, “This will allow me to focus more on coming up with new ideas and designs.” You can find out more about the company on their website https://www.fiodh.scot/ 30 Successful Alumnus Faculty of Engineering University of Strathclyde Room 603 James Weir Building 75 Montrose Street Glasgow, G1 1XJ t: +44 (0)141 548 2749 e: eng-enquiries@strath.ac.uk w: www.strath.ac.uk/engineering twitter: @StrathEng Recruitment & International Office Level 4, Graham Hills Building 50 George Street Glasgow G1 1XP t: +44 (0)141 548 2913 f: +44 (0)141 552 7493 e: ugenquiries@strath.ac.uk pgenquiries@strath.ac.uk international@strath.ac.uk Associate Principal and Executive Dean Faculty of Engineering Professor Atilla Incecik atilla.incecik@strath.ac.uk Faculty Manager Dr Gayle Wilson gayle.wilson@strath.ac.uk Vice-Dean (Academic) Dr Andrew McLaren andrew.mclaren@strath.ac.uk Vice-Dean (Knowledge Exchange) Professor William Ion w.j.ion@strath.ac.uk Vice-Dean (Research) Professor Bernard Conway b.a.conway@strath.ac.uk Associate-Dean (Academic) Dr Philip Riches philip.riches@strath.ac.uk Associate-Dean (Academic) Dr Avril Thomson avril.thomson@strath.ac.uk Associate-Dean (International) Professor Stephen Lo k.lo@strath.ac.uk