Engineering is rarely about getting things right first time and our EDT Gold Lower Sixth team quickly discovered that for themselves during two days at UCL’s MechSpace, as part of their EDT Gold Industrial Cadets project. Stepping into a university engineering lab brought their ideas into the real world. They were challenged to adapt and persevere while gaining a genuine insight into what engineering looks like at University level.

Day One began with a safety briefing and an introduction to life inside a university lab. With a plan in mind, the team quickly realised that their original approach would need to change once they understood the true complexity of building a robot from scratch.

“We had to pivot a lot, but that forced us to be patient, open to change, and better engineers.”

What followed was a day of making thoughtful design decisions, including moving away from an ambitious tracked system towards a more practical wheeled design for an indoor environment. With support from UCL mentors, students learnt to use unfamiliar tools and equipment, from laser cutters and 3D printers in order to fabricate acrylic wheels with O-ring grips, cut aluminium axles to size, and create a to scale cardboard prototype of their robot chassis. Alongside this hands on work, students grappled with CAD software, adapting to new programmes, learning through trial and error, and building confidence as their designs slowly took shape. Others researched materials for a radioactive sample container, weighing up feasibility and planning testing back at school. The day demanded independence and teamwork in equal measure. As one student reflected, “It was more independent than I expected, but that made the learning stick.” By the end of the day, despite setbacks and redesigns, the team left feeling motivated, more confident and excited for what lay ahead.

Day Two saw that confidence grow. The morning began with a tour of the MechSpace, where students came face to face with completed engineering projects by undergraduate students including racing cars, a rover strikingly similar to their own, and the UCL-Ventura breathing aid. This breathing aid was developed in under 100 hours during the COVID-19 pandemic by engineers at University College London, in collaboration with NHS clinicians and industry partners. The device offered a powerful reminder that engineering can be life-saving as well as innovative. Seeing these projects in action helped students visualise solutions for their own designs before returning to the workshop with renewed purpose. Back at the benches and screens, they modelled their chassis in CAD and laser-cut it from acrylic, designed mounts, and discovered first-hand that even “correct” measurements don’t always behave as expected, having to then file and sand axles until their bearings finally fit. Others explored electronics, building motor circuits on breadboards and attempting to control them with Arduino code. When debugging proved frustrating, it became a lesson in resilience rather than failure.

“The circuit worked, the code didn’t,  and that’s just part of real engineering.”

Alongside the making and testing, students studied previous EDT reports, learning how strong engineering is not just built, but also clearly justified and communicated. The visit ended with tired hands and a growing sense that their project and their confidence was gathering real momentum.

Miss Ballie-Whyte, Teacher of Physics, STEAM & EDIB Lead