There was a coconut water extractor
, splitting open
the coconut to reveal the lovely jelly inside. This was
one of the exhibits at the Undercroft of the Kenneth S.
Julien Building of the Engineering Faculty, the work of
over 120 students.
Titled “The Final Year Exhibition of Engineering
Students: Design and Build,” the two-day event was
created within the Mechanical and Manufacturing
Department to encourage students by recognising their
innovative work.
It brought sectors that could benefit from research
and development together with new ideas and idea
generators. Projects at the exhibition fell into five
categories: dynamics, automotive, agriculture and
agro-processing, manufacturing and alternative
energy, and environmental and medical. Because food
processing in particular is seen as an especially necessary
and viable area for growth, several related projects
were highlighted. These included, among others, an
automated duck roaster, a pulveriser for oyster shells, a
cassava harvester, and even one that demonstrated the
thermal insulating properties of banana plant leaves.
“Every year students in the Faculty of Engineering
undergraduate programme engage in 150 final year
projects, maybe more. When one considers similar
activities in the Faculty of Science and Technology
and the Faculty of Food and Agriculture this speaks
to the potential of the University in driving an
entrepreneurship based on technological innovation.
“Significantly, whereas in the past students would
see their projects as just a requirement for completing
the degree, I have seen an increasing number looking
beyond graduation, exploring the possibility of
making their ideas a commercial reality. This speaks
volumes to a small but significant change in the culture
required to fuel the wealth generation engine,” said
Professor Brian Copeland, the new Principal of the St.
Augustine Campus as he addressed the conference that
accompanied the exhibition.
(See Page 17 for more on the Exhibition)
COCONUTS
get cracking
EXIT INTERVIEW – 10
This isMy Home
Professor Clement Sankat
NEW
PRINCIPAL – 12
I Don’t
Stand on
Ceremony
Professor
Brian Copeland
ENVIRONMENT – 14
Cleaning Up Carenage
Students take action
HERITAGE – 15
TheMoveableMuseum
A case of cases
PHOTO: ANEEL KARIM
