Josephine Choy displaying her project Opal in a pink box

Graduates 2022: Josephine Choy: Product Design

My time at Brighton has been really rewarding and fulfilling. The course itself was very close-knit and collaborative where I have gotten to meet and work with people from different years with different passions. The tutors also come from various backgrounds which diversified my learning — there was never really a ‘right’ answer, just different perspectives.

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Headshot of George engineering student

Flexibility, innovation and fresh ideas

Second year Mechanical Engineering BEng(Hons) student George Diamantopoulos has recently joined the STEP lab. Here he tells us about engineering at Brighton and how he get involved with STEP lab.

“I chose engineering because I had a burning desire from a very young age to explore the logistics and thought processes behind engineering achievements. Mostly, I was always asking myself how and why? How’s this car engine made? Why is this elevator working without me noticing the mechanism? I had huge curiosity and I had to go after my dream of becoming an engineer. It’s a very creative degree; it offers flexibility and promotes innovation and fresh ideas. Engineering gives the message that if something can be conceived, it has the potential of being realized.

The main reason I chose the University of Brighton is the volume of classes and an equally important one is approachability. I’m studying mechanical engineering, I did the same degree in Germany for 2 years. The auditorium in Germany contained more than 850 students, while in Brighton student number is around 35. This makes the material that is being taught easier to digest, and the lecturer-student interaction is more productive. Lecturers are also very approachable. Brighton is a very diverse community, which supports every single student both inside and outside their respective course.

STEP lab is a facility located in the heavy engineering building at the Moulsecoomb campus where research and development projects are taking place. STEP lab aims to promote and achieve collaborations with industrial organizations through experimental testing. At this stage, a very important real-life project is taking place in the form of an experimental steam rig, which is constantly being modified to analyse the behaviour of SWEP heat exchangers.

I expressed my interest during an interview with Dr. Panesar, but the initial information for the existence of the STEP lab came from a friend who was already involved. I approached Dr. Panesar intending to work on a single electric car project which was advertised by the university. He explained to me that this electric car project is part of the countless STEP lab projects that exist. He then introduced me to the idea of working on the experimental rig and gaining valuable experience in an actual engineering project.

I want to become a chartered engineer and apply my determination and knowledge to an automotive application. The world has steered towards electrification. This is the pathway of the future, and I would love to be part of the electric car evolution.”

Alex Witty holding mobile and a trainer

Walk this way: creating renewable energy from footsteps

We’ve all been there. You’re on a train, lost trying to navigate, or FaceTiming a friend and… your phone dies.

What do you do if you have no way of charging it? Alex Witty, a University of Brighton alum has the answer: The Piezo Project. The Piezo Project is a renewable energy technology that when integrated into footwear, harnesses the power generated by your footsteps to provide charge for your mobile device while you’re on the move.

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male student sitting in front of a computer

My first year so far

Minas Fakhori is one of the first year Computer Science BSc(Hons) students that took part in the latest Codefest, a monthly software development event that brings together students, industry experts and the latest technologies in computer science.

Here is what he said about his year so far:

“AI is going to be a huge field in the future, and that’s why I  chose University of Brighton. University of Brighton focuses on AI while keeping the modules diverse enough to enter a different field if you chose to. The reason I chose Computer Science, is that I always had a passion for coding and making things, I find problem-solving exciting and Computer Science has all those aspects in it.

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Montage of images as a still from the Fixperts video

Brighton student design teams bag coveted global awards

Two teams of University of Brighton design students have won awards in a prestigious global competition run by the Royal College of Art.
The students – in their first year of Product Design with Professional Experience BSc have won both of the two Royal College of Art, The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design Fixperts awards for 2021. Fixperts is a learning programme that challenges young people to use their imagination and skills to create ingenious solutions to everyday problems for a real person.

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