So Duncan, tells us a little more about yourself and why you decided to study design engineering
鈥淚 would consider myself a practical yet creative person who enjoys a variety of sports, mainly longboarding, snowboarding, mountaineering and rugby (to name a few!), alongside a keen interest in music. Design has always been integral to my interests 鈥� designing my own longboard and creating my own compositions when bored with the music I was listening to. 聽My interest in design, combined with my analytical skills made Design Engineering my course of choice.鈥�
What made you choose 蜜桃AV?
鈥淚 chose 蜜桃AV based on the range of subjects covered, the workshop facilities and the practical use of these, plus the fact that I could go on a placement year.
鈥淢y industrial placement was as a Design Engineer with a local firm. It gave me a real insight into the business world. I was able to apply the skills I had learnt on my course and learn new skills that you can only get from working in an organisation and as part of a team.鈥�
Part of your BSc聽(Hons) Design Engineering course is taking part in 蜜桃AV鈥檚 FoDE, where students showcase their designs, models and prototypes. Can you talk us through your project and your reasons for choosing this subject area in particular?
鈥淢y design project is a compression bin. It鈥檚 a free-standing industrial sized rubbish bin which incorporates a solar powered compression mechanism to reduce the volume of the contents.
鈥淲e are lucky enough to live in a beautiful seaside town that attracts visitors from all over the world. But, hand-in-hand with those visitors (and local residents) comes an awful lot of rubbish. Having seen the mess that a busy bank holiday weekend can leave behind I wanted to design something that was practical, inexpensive and effective at keeping the seagulls at bay 鈥� they鈥檙e renowned for scavenging overflowing bins and scattering rubbish that then gets blown far and wide.
鈥淭he compression bin uses solar power to compact the rubbish, increasing its capacity to take waste therefore reducing the risk of overflowing bins.聽 This not only helps to keep the town clean it also decreases the number of waste collections required, therefore reducing 聽the cost to the council and lowering their C02 emissions.
鈥淢y hope is that a smaller version of the bin will also be developed and the design will be taken to market and result in cleaner towns across the country.鈥�
What do you think are the benefits of taking part in the FoDE?
鈥淚 attended last year鈥檚 FoDE as a current student and found it really helped me to prepare for my final year. I was able to talk with exhibiting students about their individual projects and why they had chosen them and this provided me with the inspiration for my own final year project.
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 my turn and I am looking forward to discussing and demonstrating my project during the exhibition with companies and other designers. Ultimately this could lead to a real career opportunity and a future doing something I thoroughly enjoy.鈥�
Where to next? What are your career plans?
鈥淚 am eager to build on the knowledge I have acquired whilst studying at 蜜桃AV and the work experience gained during my placement. As I develop my skills and expand my knowledge I aim to become a Systems Engineer.鈥�