Category: Projects

Photo of Jasmine Montgomery

Engineering project exhibition 2023: Jasmine Montgomery, Electrical and Electronic Engineering BEng(Hons)

I have enjoyed my final year project as it has given me the chance to create and build my own project to work on, and it is a topic I find interesting. The independence is a great skill to carry forward into my career.

Please tell us a bit about your project

My project is an investigation into communication networks and how different configurations of networks change the network metrics and behaviour of traffic.

I have used simulation tools like Cisco Packet Tracer and GNS3, along with my research, to run simulations of scenarios, used to compare changes in a network. Videos of the simulations being built and run are also provided as an aside to the dissertation, which will run alongside my poster on the poster exhibition day to give a visual aid to what my investigation entailed.

My supervisor, Dr Deshinder Singh Gill, has been extremely supportive in my progress in many ways, including setting up weekly meetings with students, being there for many 1-to-1 meetings, always doing his best to advise me on how to make my project the best I can, and also for general support and advice. I could not have asked for a better project supervisor.

How did you choose your course – why did you choose to study an engineering degree and why Brighton?

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Stephanie Thomson1 Comment
Engineering project exhibition 2023 poster

Engineering project exhibition 2023

All are welcome to join our final year engineering students at their project exhibition on Wednesday 3 May, 2-5pm on Wednesday 3 May. More than 160 final students will be displaying their projects, many of which are industry- or research-based and cover a diverse range of technical disciplines.

Come and see the brilliant work from our aeronautical, automotive, mechanical, manufacturing, electrical and electronic engineering student and have the opportunity to discuss their projects.

We look forward to seeing you there.  

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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.

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Tech drawing of engineering part

Engineering project exhibition 2023: Harry Michell, Mechanical Engineering BEng(Hons)

“The biggest highlight of my course was the final year. It’s a chance for you as a student to prove to yourself and others what you can achieve. Also, with your final year project you can steer it in the direction you want. This paired with more practical work – there isn’t much better.”

My project is looking to improve the steering of a F24 Greenpower kit car. These kit cars are currently used by the university as an outreach activity for local school children aged 11-16, the purpose of this is for each student to get an insight into engineering and what can be done with certain skills. I chose this project because I have been involved with Greenpower for almost a decade now, participating in Greenpower events throughout upper school and now university also, due to this I know what activities like this can do for people and it’s part of the reason I’m an engineering student today.

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Group of students standing outside a lab

Experience: summer internship in Sustainable Technology & Engineering Projects lab

Majeed, one of the recent summer interns at the STEP Lab, reflects on his invaluable experience so far of the Sustainable Technology & Engineering Projects (STEP) lab.

Majeed’s intern experience

I was aware that in the engineering industry experience is essential, so when I saw the STEP Lab opportunity I had to take it. I saw the STEP Lab as my summer work and treated it as such, attending 3-5 days a week to ensure I could learn and make as much progress as possible.  

Although I did not get a traditional industrial placement, I can now look back on my time with the STEP Lab as a blessing in disguise. Now when I apply to placements this academic year, I will be a lot more equipped as I would not only have had work experience but I will have an in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge of what I have done throughout the summer which will make my future interviews even better. My time with the STEP Lab will show future employers that even when I didn’t get a placement I stayed resilient and still found engineering experience.  

One of the first things that we did at a STEP Lab was sit together and get to know each other, and I ended up meeting new people, from lower years and higher years and even people that were on my course that I had never met! I find it hard to socialise, so having the STEP Lab group really helped me, and I have now cultivated some friendships with people on my course and other aspiring engineers.  

I can easily say that working with the STEP Lab has been the most challenging but enjoyable engineering work I have done at the university, as my year 2 was completely affected by COVID-19 and we were only able to do one practical unit (the robot wars group project).

Many of the projects within the STEP Lab overlap so I got my first taste of what it is like when your work and someone else’s work affect each other. An example of this is when me and another student had to collaborate as I was in charge of the mechanical commissioning of the ORC rig and he was in charge of the electrical commissioning of the ORC rig. We decided to have bi-weekly meetings to inform each other about various applications and any varying aspects of the rig. In the STEP Lab you are working with excited and like-minded engineers. 

I am the type of person that learns better with hands-on practical applications. That style was heavily used with my Diploma when I was at 6th form. Working with the STEP Lab, I saw some of the amazing projects currently happening and received amazing help and mentoring from the professors, PhD students and technicians.  

I believe that the STEP Lab has improved my engineering confidence by a great deal. Especially as I was in charge of mechanical commissioning, and I learned many new things and greatly improved engineering skills I already had. It has improved my confidence to such a degree that now I when walk around in my day-to-day life, I’m a lot more aware of what actually had to happen in various engineering applications, this summer internship with the STEP Lab has reignited my passion for being an engineer.  

Also working throughout the summer alleviates the issue of becoming lazy throughout summer. Having worked all summer long with the STEP Lab, I feel more prepared and excited for my year 3 journey than I would have if I did not join them.  

Working with the rest of the STEP Lab and helping them or learning about their various projects was also a highlight of my experience. An example of me helping another student was when another student was dealing with the mechanical arrangements for his rig. I would periodically help him as that was an avenue that the STEP Lab has taught me well enough until I was then able to assist a fellow student with his project.

Another amazing benefit of working with the STEP Lab is the student driven community. Working with first year students, students graduating from Bachelors and Masters courses, students in the same year as me, students going into masters and international students. This environment showed me the importance of networking, as all of these students including myself are to be future engineers. And it also demonstrates the positive effect that a community like environment can have on young people.

All in all, the STEP Lab has been an amazing experience, through all the things I have learned and all the people I have met. I can say with confidence that I would love to have this opportunity again and I will definitely be suggesting it to any new students I encounter that want more from their engineering experience at the University of Brighton.  

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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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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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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.”

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