皇家华人

Students set to join the UCL Faculty of Engineering were invited to spend some of their summer developing a solution to improve the health of the world鈥檚 oceans.

UCL听Faculty of Engineering听asked听incoming students to spend some of their summer before starting听university听taking听part in the UCL Ocean Health Challenge: to听devise听a听world-changing听idea that will reduce the amount of plastics entering the world鈥檚听oceans.听

鈥淲e wanted to enthuse students听about听joining听UCL,听so we set them a huge听challenge that could be addressed by the different听disciplines within the faculty,鈥� explains Christopher Neil,听听Head of Strategy听&听Operations听for the faculty鈥檚 Digital Innovation Unit. 鈥淏efore they even arrive at听university听we wanted to inspire them to change the world.鈥澨�

By听the听end of August,听more than听250听prospective听students听across听the faculty鈥檚听ten听departments听had听engaged with the course.听听听

鈥�鈥淏efore they even arrive at听university听we wanted to inspire them to change the world.鈥澨�

鈥淥ur approach to teaching is very hands-on and application based and we wanted to bring that approach to an online听course鈥� explains Dr Fiona Truscott, a听senior听teaching听fellow on the faculty鈥檚 Integrated Engineering Programme (IEP) who co-designed the course with听the faculty鈥檚听learning听technologist, Matthew听Seren听Smith.听听

鈥淏y getting them to design and build their own prototype, we hope to give potential students a taste of what our current students and engineers do on a daily basis,鈥澨齭he adds.听听

The innovative solutions that were proposed included a self-recycling bin, which scans and sorts rubbish to improve rates of plastic recycling, and a beach cleaning app that rewards people for collecting waste. Other participants proposed creating alternative materials using recycled plastics for the construction industry and a machine that convert plastics into oil for reuse.听

鈥淭he health of the world鈥檚 oceans provided the perfect scenario for the kind of interdisciplinary challenge the听students听will be faced with as engineers, as well as providing us with the opportunity to highlight the issues听our听oceans currently face,鈥澨齭ays Matthew.听

The faculty鈥檚 Digital Innovation Unit encouraged students to collaborate and discuss their solutions in online forums, and even developed a set of ocean-related holograms for students to view using their very own homemade hologram viewer. Furthermore,听UCL Engineering鈥檚 careers team听arranged a set of interviews with听some of the faculty鈥檚 former students听to听discuss potential听career paths.听听听

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