Engineers of the future prove their worth

A team of engineering and computing students from the University of Derby and graduates working at Alstom narrowly missed out on the top spot in an international competition.

The team took second place in the annual Rail Challenge – a competition organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

The competition sees teams working together throughout the academic year before they take part in a weekend of track-based challenges and presentations to showcase their engineering skills and business acumen.

The teams plan innovation projects, design, implement and test them and demonstrate them to the judging team.

Challenges are based on areas of importance to the rail industry, such as operational reliability and safety, energy efficiency and passenger comfort.

Among the innovations developed by the University of Derby/Alstom team were train control changes to improve the driving experience, and a new composite roof, which provides better waterproof performance and durability.

Eight teams from across the UK and Europe took part in the final competition weekend – and the University of Derby/Alstom team was the only UK team to finish in the top three.

The Derby group also won a number of challenge trophies, including the Ride Comfort Challenge, Energy Storage Challenge, Traction Challenge and Auto-Stop Challenge.

Professor Chris Bussell, pro vice-chancellor dean of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Derby, said: “These are brilliant results from the University of Derby; they are evidence of the positive impact of applied learning and the benefit of collaboration between our students, academics, technicians and colleagues at Alstom – all of whom have played their part in this achievement.”