| As a departure, and a trial this year, two local schools were invited to bring students along to engage in STEM activities as well as observe the undergraduate activities on their aircraft. The schools were Ysgol Dyffryn Ardudwy, Harlech and Ysgol Moelwyn, Blaenau Ffestiniog, who arranged a total of 60 Year 9-11 students to come along to the event. In addition, a separate Art competition was organised for younger school children in the months before the challenge with the winners invited to the event. STEM activities included flying small drones, flying gliders and building lighthouses. Our Regional members volunteered to help with running these activities, as well as taking the school children around the hanger to talk to the university teams. We had a small IMechE stand with careers literature and the usual freebies for the participants. Overall the event went well with a positive feedback from the teachers who attended. Unfortunately, timing of the main awards ceremony precluded the schoolchildren from staying until the end. However, a shorter ceremony was held for the schools which included prize giving for the STEM and art competition. As this was a trial, some thoughts on improvement, based on volunteer feedback: - Involvement by more schools with perhaps less students from each school for the future. More students could create issues with volunteer numbers needed.
- Consider age profile, should the event include older children also?
- Mini drones were excellent and contained in a predefined area. Nevertheless, there was still some risk to participants which might need to be looked at in future.
The overall champion for the UAS Challenge was Istanbul Technical University, Turkey. The University teams were congratulated for the excellent way they engaged with and inspired the schoolchildren. Some individuals were extremely impressive in imparting knowledge of aerodynamics which kept the young people entranced. As a final comment, the absence of any representation from the Business Development team was once again noted which seems a wasted opportunity with so many captive undergraduates, some of which have travelled a long way to attend. A big thanks to our volunteers who participated from across the Region. Gareth Cemlyn Jones Chairman Merseyside & North Wales Region |