Three students with their model rocket car

Getting motivated through competition and seeing projects come to life

In the third and final blog in this series about the Engineering Practice module, Cristian, one of our Electrical Engineering students from Group 17, shares his thoughts on researching, workshops, cooperation, competition, and public speaking as part of this module.

Read about Theodore, Connor and Will’s experiences of the Engineering Practice module here

Read about Jake, Valentin, Edward, Connor and Isabel’s experience here

Engineering Without Borders

Since our objective was to help a region of the UK with relatively low life expectancy, we chose to go with a sustainable and overall cheaper way for the consumer to motivate them into exercising more frequently. Using our field in electrical engineering we opted to lower membership prices and have a reward system integrated by connecting electricity generating attachments to gym equipment. What made us the proudest was finishing a full-fledged project with complete research and being able to present in such a way that would be appealing to regional infrastructure developers and investors underlining the importance of physical exercise with some niche improvements on sustainability.

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Four students with their rocket car

Engineering projects for future careers

In the second blog in this series about the Engineering Practice module, Mechanical Engineering students Jake, Valentin, Edward, Connor and Isabel from Group 15 tell us about their experience, and how they developed and enhanced their skills individually and as a group which will now help them in their professional futures.

Read about Theodore, Connor and Will’s experiences of the Engineering Practice module here

Read about Electrical Engineering student Cristian’s experience here

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Group of students testing antweight robots

Engineering projects – rocket cars, robots and Engineering Without Borders.

The Engineering Practice module, co-delivered by over a dozen Personal Academic Tutors, and led by Dr Angad Panesar, is our first-year flagship module on our Aerospace, Automotive, Electrical and Mechanical courses. We’ve asked three groups of students taking part in the projects for this module, to talk about their experiences.

In this blog Theodore, Connor and Will, our Mechanical Engineering Students, from Group 14 discuss their experience on the module, about sustainability, multidisciplinary projects, and communal aspects of the technical activities, leading to their first-class output and poster. 

Read our other blogs about electrical engineering student Cristian’s experience of these projects and the way Jake, Valentin, Edward, Connor and Isabel worked together on theirs.

Continue reading “Engineering projects – rocket cars, robots and Engineering Without Borders.”

Brighton CCA explores AI visions of a sustainable future

Visitors to Brighton CCA from 27 January to 27 February will have the chance to explore the (quite literally) limitless potential of Artificial Intelligence-rendered art to inspire solutions for a world impacted by climate change and environmental degradation. 

The art will be displayed as part of a free exhibition of AI-generated images which integrate the built environment and the natural world.

Titled SOS: Let’s share our dreams for more sustainable futures and healthier communities, the exhibition is the brainchild of Dr Poorang Piroozfar, a Reader in Architectural Technology and Digital Construction at University of Brighton, and Dr Eric Farr, an Honorary Professor of Architecture and Design at University of Liverpool.

The AI algorithm behind the show has delved into myriad concepts and imagery around ‘green architecture’ to create visions of a startling world where nature is integrated totally into the structure of urban buildings, from houses to skyscrapers.

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Profile picture of Chris Willetts

Brighton student wins construction industry accolade

Congratulations to Chris Willetts, who’s studying Project Management for Construction BSc(Hons) who took the Outstanding Student Award at an annual construction industry event for London and the South East.

The Bright Futures Student Challenge – run by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) – brings together students studying construction-based courses at universities and colleges in London and the South East. This year it challenged students to showcase their skills and knowledge via a presentation to an expert panel, based on a site visit to the ongoing £29m Tribeca mixed-use new build development in London’s Kings Cross.

Chris is currently a second year student and his reward for winning the CIOB’s ‘Outstanding Student’ title for 2022 includes a week of work experience with VolkerFitzpatrick, the company behind the Tribeca development.

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Quantity Surveying alumni visit photo with Debra

Class of ’71 reunion for Quantity Surveyors

On Tuesday 26  May, a group of Quantity Surveyors revisited the University of Brighton to relive their university days. They graduated from the Brighton College of Technology in 1971.  A large group attended a reunion back in 2016 and six years later, four of the cohort came back to take another look. A lot has changed on the Moulsecoomb campus since their last visit with the near completion of the big build. The group observed that the campus now looks very different and more built up since they saw it last and even more different from when they studied back in the late 60s when the campus consisted of only the Cockcroft Building! They reminisced about Club 66 which was situated on the mezzanine floor and observed that the ground floor of Cockcroft didn’t exist back when they were studying, there was water which went underneath the building to the courtyard beyond.

The graduates had a tour from Noel Painting, Rotimi Joseph and Mahmood Alam (School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering) who discussed the current curriculum and structure of the Quantity Surveying course and how their cohort was the last for a number of years before it was recently reinstated. The group enjoyed a tour of the new Business School (Elm House) and then a look around their old building. The Vice Chancellor Professor Debra Humphris stopped by to welcome the alumni and answer some of their questions about the size and shape of the university.

The group were intending to meet with another 18 of their cohort in the evening to have their dinner in English’s Seafood Restaurant which was their restaurant of choice after final exams because ‘they could only afford to eat there once a year!’

David Porter who attended the reunion said:

“It was both interesting and informative. The meeting with the Vice Chancellor was enlightening. 19,000 students is a great deal more than our time in Brighton. We were all highly impressed with the progress which has been, and is being made, at the University. It goes without saying that we were all so pleased that the QS degree has been revived.”

“Our reunion was a great success. As you may imagine there was much reminiscing of what happened in Brighton all those years ago. Both at work and at play!!”

Still of water rocket launching

Challenge to design, build and fire a water rocket

To kick start a project to design and build a water rocket, our first-year engineering students took a trip to Wild Park to see some live test firing. With some final year students helping lecturers to lead the session, it was a great opportunity for the project students to see different water rocket designs in action and understand what they are aiming for.

A fun project firmly rooted in engineering and product design, students focus on measurements, building rigour into the design and keeping in mind what they want the rocket to be able to do. Gathering and using data is key, from fluid dynamics analysis to data assimilation which can be tested in the wind tunnel.

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Profile of Tim Bonner

What is it like studying maths at University of Brighton?

I’m adapting to university study

Mathematics is not the easiest of courses, as you may expect. Lots to learn and remember. That being said, I have had great support returning to education after taking four years away from studying and day by day I’m finding it easier and progressing with my work. We’re assessed in a variety of ways including portfolios, coursework and exams. This blend is great as you can see how you’re progressing and which modules you need to spend a bit more time on.

Preparing for industry

Something that majorly attracted me to the University of Brighton maths degree is the stats and programming elements. We learn a variety of coding languages used in the working world of mathematics including SAS, SPSS and R, all of these are very applicable to the real-world, widening opportunities of employment opportunities in the future.

My most feared module became my favourite!

I was nervous about starting Further Calculus as I thought I was going to really struggle, but Will our head of course and lecturer for the module, has made the module easier to understand. We have topic booklets that guide you through the lecture with space for additional notes and exercises built in, so that the notes for the module are displayed together and easy to process and understand.

My lecturers have an open-door policy

We can check in at their offices to see if they’re available for a chat or contact them online to ask for support about work and personal issues. They help direct us to the support needed and if it’s something they can’t deal with themselves they will still be there to ask how you are. The university is so supportive and wants you to succeed, there is always guidance for those who seek it.

I’m excited for my future

I look forward to the challenges ahead and seeing what I can achieve with the skills and knowledge I have developed at Brighton. The course is helping me prepare for a career, with presentation skills, leading discussions on my findings, and how to convey the information I have found in language that is easy to understand.

 

 

Smiling photo of Gerard Assoumou engineering student

Investigating a sustainable technology solution to help reduce global warming

Gerard Assoumou is part of one of the project teams working in the Sustainable Technology and Engineering Projects (STEP) lab. Here he tells us about his Aerospace Engineering MEng final year team project, as well as some insights into why he chose to study at Brighton.

“I’ve always been passionate about planes and wanted to be a pilot since really little. In high school my interest for the technicality and complexity behind an aircraft kept growing and pushed me towards applying for aeronautical engineering. I chose Brighton because from the very few universities that proposed this course and that I visited on open days, Brighton had a more interactive touch to the learning process. I was looking forward to some of the classes and projects described on the open day by the students, and of course the Simulation Suite. I also found Brighton to be a really beautiful interesting city which played a huge part in deciding to come here.

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