This term, Year 7 Technology students had the exciting opportunity to participate in an Engineers Without Borders incursion, where they experienced firsthand the challenges engineers face in solving global issues.

Six engineering and design students from the University of New South Wales volunteered their time to lead a series of engaging design challenges, each focusing on a different area of engineering.

The incursion introduced Year 7 students to practical engineering concepts and encouraged them to think critically about real-world problems. Each challenge presented a unique opportunity to apply creative thinking and problem-solving skills to design solutions that meet the needs of society.

Here’s a glimpse of the challenges they tackled:

• Appropriate Housing (Civil Engineering): Students explored the concept of buoyancy by designing and constructing a floating structure that could hold weight, all while using minimal construction materials. This challenge encouraged students to consider the balance between material efficiency and structural integrity.

• Prosthetic Leg (Biomedical Engineering): In this activity, students worked in small teams to design and build a prosthetic leg using common household materials. The challenge gave them insight into the difficulties faced by those who rely on prosthetics, helping them appreciate the importance of biomedical engineering in improving quality of life.

• Renewable Energy (Energy Engineering): Students created prototype wind turbines to explore the power of renewable energy. They tested their designs to see how much energy their turbines could generate, with the goal of lighting up LED bulbs based on the energy produced. This challenge highlighted the importance of sustainable energy solutions for the future.

• Safe Structures (Humanitarian Engineering): This task involved designing a tower structure that could withstand simulated disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and cyclones. Students had to balance height and strength, learning how engineers design safe buildings in areas prone to natural disasters.

Throughout the day, students enjoyed collaborating with their peers and gaining hands-on experience in solving real engineering problems. The incursion provided a fun yet educational environment for Year 7 students to understand the critical role engineers play in addressing societal needs and global challenges.

This valuable experience not only gave students a glimpse into various fields of engineering but also sparked their interest in pursuing design and technology further, as they learned key skills in teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking.

For more information on this initiative please visit:

https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/cocurricular/engineers-without-borders-unsw-chapter

Engineers Without Borders - Floating Houses Project – a perspective from Jules and Tal – Year 7

Engineering students from the University of NSW came to our school to teach us about different types of engineering as a career.

The design objective for our project was to build a structure that can hold the most marbles while floating on water. There was a budget of $25 for materials. Each type of material had a price, and we could only spend up to $25. We managed to spend only $24. Our materials included a cup, balloon and aluminium foil. 

We first bought a cup then we realised the cup would be too top heavy and fall over so we cut it then we bought a balloon and put it on the bottom of the cup so it would float when we could a piece of aluminium foil to spread to the mass of the marbles letting it hold more.

We learned that it’s very important what materials you use and that its not to light. We were very careful when we were building and making sure that it was buoyant and planning detailed.