Imagine crafting a gravity-powered vehicle from scratch with only a handful of materials. Now, picture that vehicle being themed after your favourite movie. This was the thrilling challenge faced by First-year Sustainable Design Engineering students in their final group project. Not only did they have to build a fully functional vehicle, but they also had to incorporate a dose of Hollywood magic into their design.
The completed vehicles were displayed on November 29th at the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering’s (FSDE) entrance. The exhibition attracted numerous students, faculty, and other staff who admired the creativity and ingenuity demonstrated through the projects. Vehicle themes included Lightning McQueen, Delorean, Barbie, Shrek, Fast and Furious, Transformer’s Bumble Bee, and many more.
Students are waiting for the race to start at the turf. All photos by Syed Imran.
The most popular vehicle award:
An award for the most popular vehicle was decided by a vote from attendees. The Barbie-themed vehicle received the most votes. Despite unexpected snowfall, participants were well-equipped with winter coats, and hot chocolate was provided for everyone before they enjoyed the race. The vehicles were paraded from the FSDE to the track by the UPEI Alumni field.
Tyler Gallant, the instructor for the course (ENGN-1210: Engineering Communications), expressed his excitement for the race and commended the students’ efforts. Sandi, who played a vital role in assisting students throughout their project, also expressed his enthusiasm. The race was named “Sandi’s Race 2023” in his honour. Sandi found it very difficult to pinpoint the best car built since they seemed stunning.
Steff Taylor, the Administrative Assistant to the Dean of FSDE, commented on the significance of the race, praising the growth she saw in students’ skills, confidence, and abilities. She also noted the camaraderie among the students, with upper-year students supporting and cheering on the first-years while reminiscing about their own experiences.
“I’ve watched students grow their skills by taking pieces apart and putting them back together. Knowing many of the students were coming directly from high school and also had never used tools before, it was a
pleasure to see them be able to design and produce carts and watch their confidence and abilities grow. Despite the cold weather, the excitement and friendly competitiveness was vibrant in the crowd. What I personally enjoyed the most was the camaraderie of students that FSDE has; upper-year students came to support and cheer on the first-year students and recounted their experiences in first-year design as well. FSDE students are the best!”
One of the students, Michael MacKenzie, shared his team’s experience . “The Magic School bus was out through some really rough times. The car was dropped during delivery to the race and the entire steering system was blown to pieces. However, after keeping calm, we sent two people to go make some new pieces to replace the split wood and got to work with all hands on deck to get it repaired. We fixed the bus right with time to spare for the race and had major success with the new steering system.”
The student expressed immense enthusiasm after the race, cherishing the success of his project. “It was never about winning for us,” he said. “It was about creating a successful and safe vehicle.”
Race winners:
Delorean was the vehicle to go the furthest with a whopping 331 ft. of total distance. This was just 7 ft. short of last year’s record. The Tokyo drift won the race as it reached the finish line in just 23 seconds.
FSDE’s hands-on curriculum reflected:
UPEI’s FSDE once again showcased its students’ talents in the best possible way. Imagine constructing your own vehicle and racing it for your final course project! FSDE has certainly set a high standard for other faculties, encouraging them to introduce such hands-on learning experiences within their course curriculum.
By Syed Imran