Bournemouth University students excel in regional engineering competition

Two Bournemouth University student teams have excelled in a regional engineering competition.

The university sent teams of first and second year students to compete in this year’s IMechE Design Competition regionals, which  aims to give university students real-life engineering experience.

This year’s brief was to create a device that simulated a self-driving electric car plugging into a wall. Chair of IMechE Davide Migiliorini said: “The device has to perform a repeatable mission in a real-world scenario.”

An all-female team of first-year design engineering students placed top of the Foundation category, tied with Poole International College. They built their device on a budget of £50 and had just six weeks to assemble it.

Imogen Riordan, 24, thought the day reinforced the importance of women in engineering fields, telling The Bournemouth Tab: “It’s impossible to ignore that we were an all-female team in a male-dominated field, we often gave each other a boost of confidence and energy, reminding each other of the significance of women in STEM at these events. We hope to inspire and encourage others.”

Her teammate Eleonora Dacaj, 19, felt the support from her teammates was valuable throughout the event. She said: “I learnt that teamwork was the most important thing and that effective communication and collaboration are key to solving complex problems together.”

Additionally, the BU second year team Frozeohm won the Advanced class. They beat Bournemouth and Poole College, the University of Southhampton and the University of Portsmouth.

Their achievements match those of last year’s Advanced class team Megatron who also won the Wessex Regionals.

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Daniel Honman, 19, was a spectator of the event and he shared: “The feel of the day was lively, sociable and friendly but had a competitive atmosphere.” He shared that the day provided opportunities to network and meet other students doing the same course.

Both teams will proceed to the final competition which will take place in London on 10th October.