ENGINEERING STUDENT-LED PROJECTS

Sheffield Formula Racing

Formula Student is Europe's most established educational motorsport competition, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Student teams from around the world design, build, test, and race small-scale Formula-style racing cars. Sheffield Formula Racing (SFR) represents the University of Sheffield, and in 2021, SFR won the Formula Student UK competition.

Applications: At the start of the academic year, applications open only to first-year UG

Contact: formula.student@sheffield.ac.uk

Sheffield Eco Motorsport

Sheffield Eco Motorsport (SEM) is the University of Sheffield’s team competing in the Shell Eco-Marathon. The team competes in the prototype class, designing and manufacturing the most efficient battery electric vehicle.

Railway Challenge

Railway Challenge at Sheffield (RCAS) takes part in the Railway Challenge, run by the IMechE’s Railway Division. The team designs and builds a miniature 10 ¼” gauge locomotive, using their creativity and technical engineering skills to apply the latest railway technology. The team came second overall in Railway Challenge 2021.

Sheffield Student Downhill Design (SD²)

We are SD Squared, an interdisciplinary project building a downhill mountain bike from scratch! We are manufacturing our prototype frame and learning all that we can about manufacturing the final version in future. We have also run testing days and developed software skills to produce our geometry measurements and designs and visited our sponsor Hope Technology for a factory tour to learn about manufacturing and see what the industry really looks like.

We are an open group to work with, always welcome new ideas and all ride bikes too. There will be opportunities to develop specialist skills such as carbon fibre layup, designing for manufacture and critical testing planning. We also need students for our software, telemetry and testing teams as well as media.

Project Hex

Project Hex designs, builds and flies advanced autonomous drones, including hexcopters and fixed wing aircraft, to compete in national and international competitions. For the last 5 years they have been entering the IMechE UAS challenge, producing some fantastic aircraft and systems in the process. The experience gained from this has led to Vulcan, their 3.2m wingspan VTOL UAS concept to compete at the international AUVSI SUAS in the US.

Project Kestrel

Project Kestrel is building a prototype three-metre wingspan VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) drone that will be used for last-mile transportation of vital medical supplies in rural Africa, incorporating a modular design, extended control range, and on-board image recognition. Their mission is closely based on the African Drone Forum’s Lake Kivu challenge in Uganda, and they also look to compete in national competitions such as the IMechE UAS Challenge.

Project Falcon

Project Falcon is a student-led UAV research and development team. We design, build and fly many drones including standard quadcopters, research prototypes as well as large quadplanes. For the international IMechE UAS 2024 challenge we're manufacturing a 10kg quadplane to complete a set of tasks completely autonomously. 

Project Jet 7

Project Jet 7 is a groundbreaking student-led initiative that has recently taken off.

Imagine defying gravity, soaring through the skies with unparalleled speed and agility. That's precisely what Project Jet 7 aims to accomplish through the development of a highly sophisticated jet suit. This project blends advanced propulsion, aerodynamics, and wearable technology, bringing to life a concept that has long been the stuff of dreams.

We eagerly anticipate forging collaborations with industry leaders, governmental organizations, and fellow visionaries who share our zeal. 

Project Jet 7 is poised to ignite a revolution, taking us beyond the realms of imagination and into a future where the skies belong to everyone. Join us on this extraordinary quest, and together, let's redefine the boundaries of human potential!

SunbYte

SunbYte (Sheffield University Nova Balloon Telescope) is the only UK project to win the prestigious Rocket and Balloon Experiments for University Students (REXUS/BEXUS) competition, a European Space Agency programme.

They aim to take images of H-alpha deep-red visible light from the Sun by constructing a solar telescope and launching it into space.

SunrIde

SunrIde is a record-breaking student-led rocketry team at the University of Sheffield. 

SunrIde was the first UK team to compete in the world’s largest Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition, the Spaceport America Cup,  and in 2019, broke the National Open Altitude record . In 2021 they won the UKSEDS National Rocketry Championship. They are currently considered one of the leading UK rocketry teams and aim to be the first to reach space. 

SunSat

SunSat is on an exciting mission to design, develop, and launch a modular, lightweight and cost-effective CubeSat platform with a scientific experiment on board. 

It will be launched via a high-altitude balloon in collaboration with Sent Into Space, and will carry a payload designed to measure temperature, pressure, and air quality. In addition to its scientific objectives, the CubeSat will demonstrate Earth observation capability.

To enable the recovery of the CubeSat after its mission is complete, we’ll use a recovery system provided by our partner. 

SunStratos

Sheffield University Stratosphere Programme (SunStratos) aims to designing a High Altitude Long Endurance  fixed-wing UAV, incorporating a foldable wing mechanism, that can be launched from a rocket and deploy autonomously. It will be equipped with a high-resolution camera that could be used for high altitude research, search and rescue operations or wildfire observation.

MarsWorks

MarsWorks competes in the European Rover Challenge, one of the biggest international space and robotics events in the world. The aim is to develop and test an autonomous Mars rover. 

Wind Turbine

Engineers Without Borders

The project will be following a detailed material selection, design, and assembly design book by Hugh Piggott for creating small, cheap, and student-led wind turbines. The wind turbine will be installed at Whirlow farm where it will be used in one of their low power requirements building sites.

Rainwater Harvesting

Engineers Without Borders

At Crewe Flats in Endcliffe, the project is building a student-designed sustainable timber-framed structure with a rainwater harvesting system on the roof. This project will promote green urban building and sustainable living, as well as supporting the Sheffield horticultural society that uses the local allotments.

Precious Plastic

Engineers Without Borders

The project aims to make a series of machines (including a shredder, an extrusion machine, an injection machine, and a compression machine) from which recycled plastic can be converted into various small objects. Recycled plastic could then be collected from the university buildings which will be used to form different objects, which in turn can be given to charity.

SheffHEPP

SheffHEPP (Sheffield Hydroelectric Power project) aims to deliver a temporary hydroelectric power installation for the village of Nether Langwith in order to power the Christmas lights on the green. The project is in collaboration with the Nether Langwith Parish Council.

The project is mainly split into three major parts: mechanical, civil, and electrical. However, engineering students from all disciplines are welcome to join.  Computer-aided design, power electronics and manufacturing skills are especially valued. 

Observatory Restoration

Chesterfield Barnett Observatory was built in 1960, and is run by volunteers from the Chesterfield Astronomical Society. It houses an 18” diameter Newtonian reflector telescope. It is visited regularly by schools and clubs and is open to the public.

The 5m+ diameter dome is manually rotated by pushing it round with a handle, and the dome shutter is opened and closed by pulling on a looped rope.

The dome was previously modified and is now distorted so that both rotating it and opening the shutter require a great deal of force and create a lot of noise, which disturbs the new nearby housing estate when used at night.

The aim of the project is to rectify the above problems in a way that respects the heritage of the dome. 

This is a new donor-funded project and students will collaborate with AMRC apprentices.

Sheffield Bionics

Established in 2017, Sheffield Bionics offers students the opportunity to develop their engineering skills through the design and construction of bionic devices.

Inspired by the tangible improvements made by groups like Open Bionics & Cybathlon, their mission is to contribute to the bionics community and inspire more people.

Their current goals are to develop and build three bionic devices to enter into Cybathlon 2024:

• A prosthetic arm

• A prosthetic leg

• A brain-computer interface

Cybathlon is an international competition in Zurich that pits universities, prosthetics companies and hobbyists against a series of challenges designed to test the capabilities of their devices.

Sheffield iGEM

Sheffield iGEM is a multidisciplinary team that competes in the world's largest synthetic biology competition.

Push the boundaries of synthetic biology by tackling everyday issues facing the world. Work together with your team to build and test a system of your own design using interchangeable biological parts.

Heartificial

Our goal is to design and build a total artificial heart replacement and compete in the Heart Hackathon. Our student-led interdisciplinary venture is committed to advancing cardiac health through innovation and collaboration and we believe that this project has the potential to make a real difference in the world of healthcare. We're also excited to host a variety of events throughout the year and welcome anyone who's interested in our mission to join us.

EWB: Vaccine Storage

The project aims to design and build a vaccine storage container that meets the standards set out by WHO which will allow vaccines to be transported through the supply chain.

A wide range of skill sets are required, including but not limited to: engineering design, modelling and marketing. We welcome members from every department and faculty.

Project Pixel

Our interdisciplinary team creates 2D and 3D games, including endless scrollers, arcade, and casual games, under the umbrella of our entity -  Knife Hit, Rider and ZigZag are great examples of what we envision! Our primary objective is to develop various games that will engage and entertain our users while promoting charitable causes. We aim to monetise our games while strongly focusing on giving back to society. All revenues generated from our games will be allocated to 100% charitable causes (such as British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research), making our games not just fun to play but also a force for good.