Engineering students scoop top industry awards
Mechanical Engineering students from London South Bank University (LSBU) have won prestigious awards at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Design Challenge.
The second-year students participated in the regional heats of the annual competition, hosted this year by Imperial College London and were recognised for their technical excellence and teamwork.
The competition challenges university teams to design and construct an autonomous vehicle capable of simulating an electric vehicle (EV) charging process. This demanding task requires precision engineering, innovative problem-solving, and mastery of autonomous control systems under stringent design constraints.
Team Vroom Vroom received the Best Presentation award alongside the Top Peer Review Score for their clear and professional oral presentation detailing their design process, testing, and engineering methodology.
Team Plug In Baby, competing in the advanced category, secured third place overall and won the Best Poster Design award. Judges commended their poster for effectively communicating complex technical concepts through clear visuals and detailed explanations.
Ben, a member of Team Plug In Baby, said: “Achieving third place was an incredible accomplishment, especially given the technical challenges we faced throughout the project. The hands-on experience of prototyping, programming, and problem-solving, supported by LSBU’s excellent facilities and staff, was invaluable. This competition has deepened my passion for robotics and engineering.”
Elisa Puccinelli, LSBU lecturer in Engineering Product Design, added: “The achievements of our students highlight their technical skill, creativity, and resilience. Successfully balancing the demands of this rigorous extracurricular challenge alongside academic commitments exemplifies the strengths of LSBU’s practical, project-based learning approach.”