Global Engineering Challenge by Zifa Zuhair

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Global Engineering Challenge(GEC) is a week-long program for all the undergraduate engineering students to work together in groups alongside students from different courses. As a first-year chemical engineering student, my lecturers and personal tutor told me about GEC at the beginning of the semester. At the time I couldn’t understand the purpose and importance of it but this became apparent when I actually completed the week.  Based on the feedback from students that had already done it, I decided to invest all my energies into the week.

I selected “Smart Greenhouse” as my priority topic and fortunately it is the one that I was assigned to. topic I wanted. My group had to come up with a feasible concept for a smart greenhouse in Kibera, an unrecognised territory in Kenya, that is facing overpopulation and consequently a shortage of food, as well as numerous other issues. On the face of it, our task seemed almost impossible, after all, it was just after semester one and none of us had much practical engineering experience. Once we thoroughly read the daily task list and the overall objectives, we realised that it was achievable and something we could  excel in, if every team member put enough effort in.

On the first day, we decided to select a daily leader to make ensure each one of us got to test out the reigns and this seemed to run fairly smoothly. However, as the week progressed, it became apparent why the word “Challenge” is in the title. Our group was made up of individuals with very different  personalities, and work ethic. There was a realisation that that this was the kind of environment we would all have to work in the real world of engineering. You do not get a say who your teammates are going to be and any big design ideas had to be shared and approved by each member. All of us had to develop and grow in areas where we may have previously held back before. This was evident when it came to communicate our individual ideas. Having to explain it in detail to the rest of the team proved to be surprisingly harder than it sounds. Giving professional and constructive feedback was almost as crucial as presenting the ideas. You would exercises like this are obvious in theory, but you can only understand this once you have had practical experience in an atmosphere such as GEC.

In order to come up with a smart greenhouse design, we had to consider the factors that we would have otherwise never thought of. After all, just building a greenhouse with smart technology was no good if it did not cater to the needs of the society that it is meant to feed. We had to consider geographical, social, economic and ethical needs and limitations of Kibera. Being an unrecognized territory, meant the statistics about Kiberia, were not readily available. In addition to this,  the validity of the available statistics were even more questionable. Despite many obstacles, we managed to put together our group report and present our final design idea to the judges.

Finally, after a few hours of presenting our solution, came the gratifying moment when our Team won “Best Communicated Solution” in our hub. Knowing all our hard-work and efforts had paid off and seeing the reward for it (glorious chocolate!) it was worth every single 9 to 5 day we had to invest. 

However, beyond that, the skills we learnt during GEC were invaluable and it helped us to get into the mindset of being an “engineer” which is something every first-year student looks forward to. I truly believe GEC is a great opportunity for us to take our first steps as future engineers. Now for the dramatic end to this article, here it is. My team’s smart greenhouse in all its glory!

Disclaimer: the 3D concept model isn’t a specification of our GEC task, but a certain member of our team was quite talented in computer modelling so this was just for extra visual panache.

Travelling as a Student by Saylee Jangam

Coming to the end of my University life, I have realised that one of the things I have received the most out of whilst at University is travelling. The experience of travelling and most importantly, travelling alone to a new place, can be eye-opening, making you stronger both emotionally and culturally. Over the past 4 years, I have travelled to Mexico, the United States, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and various cities across the UK. Travelling on a student budget is difficult – not only is it challenging to predict costs in a country you haven’t been to, it is even more so because you have little experience with managing money. However, there are many ways you can travel as I have, to make the most of your University experience on a student budget. And no, I’m not just talking about cheap Ryanair flights and hostels; I’m talking about competitions, conferences and other such events. Through these, not only will you achieve a positive educational outcome, but you will also build your network and maybe visit somewhere new!

In my second year, I helped initiate an iGEM Sheffield team – iGEM is an international synthetic biology competition that takes place in Boston every year, attracting over 300 participating University teams – through which I was able to visit Boston and New York City. The latter was a day trip where another team member and myself made a last-minute decision of visiting NYC on the one free day we had available before flying back to the UK. We left on an early morning bus and returned after a full day in the Big Apple. It was an exhilarating day and I think it was the limited time that made my friend and I really forget that it was going to be a tiring day and make the most of it. Thinking back now, I am so glad we made the trip because it could not have been more exciting and who knows when we’ll get to go back next! Travel tip #1: If it is feasible, DO IT. Take the chance.

Returning from the States to continue my placement, I found out about a conference that I could apply for, to attend as a delegate of the iGEM foundation. Having always been interested in debate and public speaking, attending a conference on conserving biodiversity and maintaining safety in the use of biotechnology was an interesting prospect. I was chosen to attend this conference in Mexico, all expenses paid, and found myself crossing the Atlantic once again in just under 2 months from the first. Cancun was beautiful, the UN conference was educational, and I learned so much about the process of decision making within the UN.

On my Year in Industry, I visited a friend from high school who moved to Rome for University. Travel tip #2: Use your connections to save costs. (And perhaps another piece of motivation to do a placement is saving up to travel!) On this trip, I was able to spend the bank holidays over Easter sightseeing in Rome and Naples. Whilst it was a busy time, I still managed to see the main attractions and relax at the Neapolitan seaside.

Travel does require quite a bit of effort in the form of planning time and money spent, however, its rewards will stay with you for a lifetime.

  

Bioengineering Practicals- Woodworks

by Jarrett Ten

Picture this scene: a room filled with running blades, hacksaws, massive drills and lots of other equipment that could potentially win you a trip to the emergency room. Imagine this task: to produce a gyrocar track support pillar made out of wood. This may not be the safest place that springs to mind however, it easily became one of the best practicals I ever had.

Having worn my lab coat with a pair of bulky safety goggles, I was ready to start constructing my support pillar. Each student was given pieces of wood which had markings drawn out by lasers. The first menacing machine I got to use was the bandsaw; a machine that seemed to be an industrial sized deli slicer made for wood. With the help of the lab technicians, I attempted to feed my small piece of wood into the monstrous band saw, unsurprisingly, the bandsaw sliced through the wood as if it was butter. Working steadily by following the markings on the piece of wood, I ultimately made the top portion of my support pillar.

Using another piece of wood to construct the base, I made my way to the hacksaw station. My piece of wood was clamped tightly to the table in readiness to be hacked into a base. Unlike the bandsaw, the hacksaw was a lot slower in molding the wood into its desired shape, as the hacksaw isn't motorised so it required a bit of arm strength. I made a base for my support pillar as well as a bit of a mess as my work table, the floor, my lab coat and the whole lab was covered in a layer of sawdust!  To smooth the sides of my base and the top portion of my support pillar I used a file to remove any sharp edges or splinters that were created by my poor woodwork skills.

With my smooth nicely cut base and top portion of the support pillar, it was time to use the bench drill to put holes in them to join them up. The bench drill was quite bulky with a base to place your material and a big sharpe drill bit standing right above it, ready to pierce anything below. This machine seemed a lot tamer compared to the bandsaw, there was a useful guard in place to protect the user from mishaps.

By the end of the practical I had a nicely finished base and pillar with holes, all that was left to do was screw them together. By the end of the session I was relieved that I hadn’t lost any fingers during the session. I was very happy with the fine support pillar that I had produced using all these cool machines. Despite the fact that it was a bit of a dangerous practical, it made me aware of the hazard.  The session was a real eye opener and it was an amazing experience to have the opportunity to operate these fearsome but astounding machines. Alongside those machines there were numerous other cool machines and gadgets that I have yet to explore but am itching to find out what amazing capabilities they posses.

The Future Of Designing

Written By: Muhammad Zainudin

In April, the University of Sheffield’s Engieering Faculty organised a prestigious conference in collaboration with the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. The whole day event was held in the Diamond Building with a dinner and networking session afterwards. The organising committee consisted of our dedicated lecturers who hoped to bring great ideas and networking opportunities to both industrial engineers and students. The event attracted big company sponsors such as ARUP, Mott Macdonald, EADON Consulting and OASYS with IStructE and Eckersley O’Callaghan being the prize sponsors.

The opening address was by Ian Firth, the President of the IABSE British Group and IStructE. He gave an inspirational speech about how he wanted future engineers to strive forward and make the world a better place for everyone, both aesthetically and functionally. Then, the conference started with the first keynote speaker being James O’ Callaghan, the Director of Eckersley O’Callaghan. He talked about the revolution of glass structures and the company’s collaboration with Apple Inc. in making the world’s largest glass building without joints. The second keynote speaker was Nick Francis from EADON Consulting and the last was from Steve Webb, the Director of Webb Yates. He talked about revolutionary stairs made from timber. After a coffee break the conference continued with a session from a member of the Government Security Advisor regarding Infrastructure Security. He gave a strong speech about how companies ignore infrastructure security while terrorism is an ever-present threat, which can potentially destroy lives and buildings.

In the afternoon, we had a delicious lunch prepared by the Diamond Café with a variety of different cuisines on offer. The day continued with two parallel Interactive Workshop sessions to choose from; Optimisation by Professor Matthew Gilbert and Andy Tas or Sketching-The Art of Approximation by Ron Slade, Hugh Morrison and Peter Debney. I attended the latter session and learned how to sketch and analyse a structure from different angles. I found this challenging as I am still a student but other, more experienced engineers eased their way through and their drawings were flawless. Then came the Young Designer Competition and I was eager to see the participants and what they were showcasing. Among all four competitors, I was most inspired by a female student from Sheffield Hallam University. She was the only student competing against working engineers and she presented her recent project, The Magnolia Grid Shell, very wonderfully and full of enthusiasm.

The last session was by John Roberts, the Executive Director of Operations of Jacobs UK. He is a very experienced engineer and he presented his project, Brighton i360, very professionally. Brighton i360 is the tallest moving observation platform in the world at 162m and the world’s most slender tower at diameter of 3.9m. The tower is high in aesthetic value and attracts tourists from all over the world to Brighton. The day ended with a closing ceremony by Ian Firth and awards presented to the winners of the Young Designer Competition: Adam Rich of Cullinan Studio and Ian Shepherd of Elliot Wood. They both received a year’s worth of IStructE membership and a Designer Book.

I learnt a lot at the conference and I really hope that Future of Design Sheffield will continue in the future for fellow engineering students. Many thanks to the University of Sheffield’s Engineering Faculty for organising such a wonderful event.