Students set to compete in thrilling drone race for Mid Sussex STEM Challenge
Students are set to compete in the Mid Sussex STEM Challenge this summer.
Ten teams from the district’s senior schools and colleges will be racing drones at The Norfolk Pavilion at the South of England Showground, Ardingly, on Friday, July 4.
The event will feature a demonstration of a real-life drone, courtesy of Sussex Police who explain the device’s life-saving benefits.
Nick Green from Flowserve is chairman of the STEM Challenge. He said: “Our Challenge enables students to take on a serious technical project which gives them the problem-solving skills and team working experience to overcome hard technology challenges. It enables students to feel the adventure of undertaking a career in the sciences and engineering and really helps to create a new high tech work force in our region.”
The brief for students this year was to design and build a drone that can deliver a payload while completing circuits around the showground.
Professor Winfried Hensinger of Quantum Technologies will open the challenge at 9.30am and High Sheriff Tim Fooks will be there to see the ‘Race Challenge’ at noon. He will also present the four Awards: Engineering, Overall Presentation, Race Challenge and Overall Winner. Two MPs will be at the award ceremony with the MSDC chairman and town mayors.
A spokesperson for the event said: “Haywards Heath Town Team initiated the Challenge several years’ ago following concerns from many of our engineering and medical companies that the skills they required in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects weren’t being followed through by students to a higher level. These skills are paramount to the economy of our area and we’re so grateful to each and every company involved who provide STEM Ambassadors to work with ‘their’ students as well as arrange visits to show the ‘real world’ of work and the diverse and selection of careers ahead of them. This year’s challenge was to design a drone, but the students were required to produce a vehicle capable of delivering a payload to a specific location, while completing circuits around the South of England Showground as many times as possible.
“Companies involved include Flowserve, Thales, PSM Marine Engineering, Adelphi, Nuffield Hospital, Edwards Vacuum, Quantum Technologies and Balfour Beatty and all are as keen as the students themselves.”