Student-Led Projects

At UNSW, a range of student-led projects provides unique hands-on engineering experience. Students work in multidisciplinary teams, taking responsibility for all aspects of their projects. It's just like real life.

Sunswift

STATE-OF-THE-ART SOLAR POWERED CAR

The UNSW Solar Racing Team is designing and building a new batmobile-inspired solar car to compete in the World Solar Championships. Their previous car Sunswift III is still in action and will be used for driver training and testing purposes. Students from a range of faculties - from engineering to arts and business - volunteer their time and skills to the success of this state-of-the-art solar powered car.

Visit the Sunswift Website.

BLUEsat

THE SATELLITE PROJECT

BLUEsat is a student managed project that aims to design, build and operate a low-Earth- orbit digital amateur radio satellite weighing approximately13kg. The solar-powered satellite will carry a flight computer, radio transmitters and receivers, power control system, battery packs and magnets to passively align the structure with the Earth's magnetic field, and will be controlled via a dedicated communications groundstation here at UNSW.

Visit the BLUEsat Website.

FORMULA SAE-A REDBACK Racing Team

AUTOMOTIVE RACING

Each year, the Redback Racing team designs, manufactures, promotes, tests and races a small, open-wheeled racing car to compete in the annual Australasian competition. The cars are based around a 600 cc engine, with some restrictions on the vehicle specifications, but basically free reign for engineering students to conceive and build the best possible racing car.

Visit the Redback Racing Website.

Robocup

ROBOT SOCCER COMPETITION

How do you learn the latest in artificial intelligence and robotics? Win at the international RoboCup competition, where teams from the world's top universities compete at robot soccer. Initially, computer science and engineering students programmed 'dogs' to play tactically and intelligently, detecting and kicking the ball, and - importantly - recognizing when a kick comes from its own team member. More recently the team has developed two-legged soccer playing robots.

Visit the Robocup Website.

MAVSTAR

SMALL FLYING VEHICLES

The MAVSTAR (Micro Aerial Vehicles for Search, Tracking And Reconnaissance) project in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering has developed a team of cooperative micro aerial and unmanned ground vehicles. These small vehicles, suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments, use both human and artificial intelligence to perform tasks such as identifying and locating targets, monitoring utilities and cinematography.

Visit the MAVSTAR Website.

Engineers Without Borders

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The UNSW chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) began in 2004. Its objective is to enable students to learn about the application of sustainable engineering solutions to the problems of the developing world. The UNSW chapter currently organises local initiatives like the PCs refurbishment program and had its first Voluntary International Placement in 2008 - an IT placement in Laos. By working in close collaboration with other university and professional chapters in NSW, students are able to have a broader and more effective reach from their actions to empower developing communities locally and globally.

Visit the Engineers Without Borders Website.
Email: unsw@ewb.org.au

Robogals UNSW

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Robogals UNSW is a student-run organisation that aims to engage girls in engineering topics from a young age. We have a long-term goal of increasing female interest in engineering, science and technology disciplines that will positively influence their tertiary-study and career plans.

One of Robogals UNSW's primary activities is running free LEGO robotics workshops for girls from primary and secondary schools. In these fun and educational classes, students learn the basics of engineering, robotics and programming using LEGO Mindstorms NXT kits. This activity also prepares students to enter school robotics competitions such as Robocup Junior Australia.

Visit the Robogals Website.