HSDC recently showcased the College’s fantastic engineering students during the annual Engineering Project Day. This event, held at South Downs Campus, brought together students, staff and industry professionals for a dynamic celebration of technical achievement and innovation.
Prince Nwuko developed a fitness application as his project.
The showcase was held in the College’s newly refurbished Engineering Department, made possible via a partnership with the South Coast Institute of Technology (IoT). Students on a range of engineering pathways, including T Levels, Apprenticeships and Higher Education programmes, were all given the opportunity to present their projects to a wider audience.
Kurt Hintz, HSDC’s Interim Principal and CEO, was exceptionally proud of the students and praised their projects on display, saying:
“Engineering Project Day was a fantastic showcase of the talent, professionalism and creativity of our students. What makes HSDC special is the way we connect learning directly to industry, ensuring students develop the technical, problem-solving and communication skills employers genuinely need. Seeing learners present work of this quality, engage confidently with industry professionals and use first-class equipment and facilities was incredibly inspiring. As someone who started out as an engineering apprentice myself, I could only have dreamed of training with the kind of industry-standard technology and kit our students now have access to at HSDC.”
HSDC’s students were also offered the chance to engage and network with industry professionals, forging important relationships that will help them to secure jobs in the future.
The College’s T Level Engineering students each designed and manufactured a working air engine, as well as multiple smaller projects.
T Level student Prince Nwuko designed a fitness application that allows athletes to track their progress, tailor their nutrition and shop for products. Speaking about his experience at Engineering Project Day, Prince said:
“It’s been so great to see the creativity on display today, there are so many different branches of engineering coming together!”
Jordan Turner created a more reliable type of packaging for her company to use.
HSDC’s HE Engineering students studying the Higher National Certificate and Diploma (HNC/D) were given the brief of ‘Reliability’ for their final projects. Reliability is increasingly more important in the digital age, ensuring that the College prepares students adequately for the needs and expectations of modern workplaces.
Jordan Turner studies the HNC in Electrical Engineering, and took a very creative approach to her project. After noticing significant flaws with her company’s own packaging for their technology, Jordan took it upon herself to design a new form of eco-friendly, reliable packaging. When asked about her project, Jordan said:
“My project is a packaging solution that ensures shipments arrive in one piece with no damage. This project has really helped me to develop both my skills and knowledge, and it’s been great to showcase my work to other students at the College.”
Jordan’s new packaging design has already passed the prototype stage, with her company beginning to use it in their shipments, demonstrating how Engineering at HSDC is truly unrivalled when it comes to work experience for students.
Deputy Principal Suki Dhesi talking to Jordan about her project.
Throughout the day, the atmosphere reflected both celebration and ambition, as students celebrated not only their engineering expertise and prowess, but also their interpersonal and communication skills.
HSDC remains proud to be a steadfast supporter of local and national businesses, ensuring that its curriculum remains aligned with the needs of industry. Events such as Engineering Project Day stand as a testament to this relationship, bridging the gap between education and employment to offer a vast range of opportunities to the young people and communities that the College serves.