On Wednesday and Thursday this week, a team of six Lower Sixth engineers attended a two-day workshop at UCL. The team is working towards their Industrial Cadet Gold Award. Now in its sixth year at FHRP, the program pairs student teams with mentors from engineering companies, presenting them with a real-world engineering problem to solve over a seven-month period. The program concludes with a written technical report, a model of their project, and a presentation to a panel of external engineers. This year, our LVI team is collaborating with PCS Instruments and is tasked with developing a machine to test the frictional torque of bearings.

The workshop took place at UCL’s MechSpace, a specialised and well-equipped area used by Mechanical Engineering students for designing and developing engineering prototypes. The FHRP team made significant progress on their Gold Award Project by utilising the high-speed 3D printers and machine shop available in MechSpace. In addition, their engineering mentors from PCS Instruments were present on both days to offer support and answer any questions.

Here is what Amber had to say about the trip:

We spent the past 2 days at UCL’s Mechspace where we were able to work on our project, getting a lot done and having fun doing it! We were able to use their equipment and (under the diligent tutelage of out mentors and of course the one and only, ever wise and all seeing Dr MacTavish) made lots of progress on our project and learnt a lot about teamwork and problem solving. We also got the chance to see some of the impressive projects that UCL mechanical engineering students have been working on including a rocket, a racecar and an autonomous drone. As well as this we went on a tour of UCL’s extensive campus, the highlight  of which was seeing the 181 year old Jeremy Bentham, UCL’s iconic auto-icon. My favourite part of the experience was finally seeing our hard work come together and getting closer as a team. We had a whale of a time!

Dr MacTavish
Head of Physics