A project to be proud of
As the only MBO, they competed against international colleges and prestigious universities such as the University of Massachusetts, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the University of Japan and National Taiwan University. The MyTec students won two awards: for the most professional construction and for the best team spirit. Like last year, several Techport companies helped design, build and test the floating construction. Lecturer Erik Deuling, Techport company Vicoma and two students tell how they experienced the Challenge.
Erik Deuling, lecturer in mechanical engineering, speaking
“When I heard about this competition two years ago, I was immediately excited and asked if we could participate as an MBO. And we were allowed to! Then immediately came the question: how are we going to approach this? We have no experience in designing and building wind turbine structures, let alone floating structures,” begins Erik, Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering Nova College - MyTec. “That's when I contacted Techport. They immediately responded enthusiastically and organised an innovation tribe in which as many as 50 companies participated in no time.”
We did the same this year, but on a slightly smaller scale. It is fantastic the way the companies work with the students to come up with the best design. The Floating Wind Challenge is a win-win situation for both the companies and the students. It is interesting for companies to take part in it, because this way they can come into contact with engineering students. And students get to know engineering companies in the region this way.”
Marjolein bakker of vicoma on the challenge
“Together with Beuker, BSE IJmond and Sapphire Yachts, we helped the students design and, among other things, calculate the buoyancy. We also used a simulator to test the shape of the stabilising part under water. This showed that an ellipse shape was better than the original cone shape.
We also took into account the wind conditions in Marseille, where the race took place.”
The students” enthusiasm is infectious. i really like showing them another side of engineering, namely that of drawing and calculation. Something that is less likely to happen on an MBO course."
Marjolein Bakker - Vicoma Consultancy & Engineering
The concluding word to students pepijn and luuk
Pepin: “We started designing last November. We were doing internships at the time, so we only had one day a week to work on it. I was lucky to intern at Vicoma Engineering, one of the companies that helped us. During my internship, I was given all the space I needed to work on the project. Within the project, I focused on designing and calculating the floating wind turbine. We also visited several companies to spar about the challenge and look at different materials.”
Luuk: “I mainly helped with construction. And especially on how to keep the mast stable. The knowledge I gained during my internship at Saffier Yachts came in handy. It was really cool to work on this with the whole class. Some are more into design and calculation, while others are more into construction. This shows how diverse the Mechanical Engineering course is.”