Our MEng and MSc students presented their Research Projects at the Industrial Liaison Forum on 5th March 2025.

All MEng students conduct team projects in their fourth year in groups of four to six students. Currently towards the end of their projects, they were able to present a mix of prototypes, samples and posters.

One MEng team was selected for a prize for the quality and enthusiasm of their presentation on distributed wind energy. Congratulations to Imad Foughali, Raima Rubaba Rahman, Milcha Masresha, Omar Abdi, Andrews Nanaaboagye Agyei and Aamna Abbasi.

The project aims to develop a range of wind energy solutions to supply electricity and water for small-scale users in urban and rural environments. The students showcased their latest aerodynamic and structural design and analysis of a small horizontal-axis wind turbine, which was well received by the audience of industry professionals and poster judges. The project is supervised by Dr Eldad Avital, Dr Ranjan Vepa and Dr Neil Cagney, and has the following objectives:

Improve the efficiency of small horizontal-axis wind turbines

• Expand the accessibility of renewable energy which will be effectively stored and distributed using a water pumping system
• Increase lift and power while decrease drag of the existing blade design, and provide a structural design capable of withstanding any loads
• Produce a prototype to be tested in a low-speed wind tunnel

Our MSc projects run from the first semester through to August, so they are currently only about half-way through their projects. Nonetheless, they were able to give an excellent account of their work so far and their plans for the rest of the project.

Three MSc students were selected for prizes for the exceptional presentation of their work on the day. The prizes winners were Sydney Lewis (supervised by Dr Yunpeng Zhu), Omar Abou Hamzeh (supervised by Dr Raza Shah) and Khadija Akhundova (supervised by Professor Julien Gautrot).

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the poster judges, specifically Dr Hulya Biler, Dr Haibao Liu, Dr Yunpeng Zhu, Dr Christopher Chapman and Dr Sara Hajikazemi, for their valuable time, insightful evaluations, and constructive feedback, which greatly contributed to the success of the event.