Introduction to Student-led Projects

This initiative promotes hands-on, extra-curricular engineering education, where students can work in teams in the Dyson Centre for Engineering Design to develop and excel in both their technical and management abilities. The official programme started in 2010 and now approximately 150 students are involved in the 5 current large teams and 7 smaller initiatives. We support independent student engineering activities in the Cambridge University Engineering Department (CUED) through two different funding routes.

Firstly, projects where funding is required between £200 and £500 to start projects as a small group can apply to the  Cambridge University Engineers' Association (CUEA).  Examples to date include the setting up of an Electronics Club for peer learning, to A.I. based maze navigation and also a project fusing engineering structures with art. Expressions of interest are welcome at the Moodle site

Secondly, the Student-led Projects and Industry Partnership (SPIP) supports larger independent student engineering activity in CUED. Industrial support through sponsorship, mentoring, technical and management advice is provided by Boeing, BP, Jaguar Land Rover, National Instruments and Marshall Group. Any independent project with at least one student member from CUED can apply for funding. Please contact the SPIP coordinator, Dr Daly if you are interested in applying. Applications for the next round of funding should be submitted in the required format by 10am on 20th November 2017.

The University of Cambridge would like to thank the industrial partners for their extremely generous contributions in terms of time, helpful advice and direct project funding.

Project Expo

Each year the teams present their most recent developments in the Expo early in November in the main engineering site. This year it will take place on 23^rd November in the Dyson Centre for Engineering Design. Come along to find out how you can become involved or how you can turn your ideas into a new project.

Meet the Teams

There have been many SPIP teams over recent years and a few are described below.

Cambridge University Space Flight

• High powered rocketry (15 km)
• High altitude ballooning (40 km)
• Building everything from light computer to rocket motors
• Launched high-altitude planetary entry parachute test system
• Annual rocketry event in the Black Rock Desert.

Cambridge University Eco Racing

• Most enterprising student society (RBS ESSA Scheme)
• Designs, builds and races
• Lightest ever vehicle at 120 kg
• Ongoing event: World Solar Challenge - 3000km race (Darwin to Adelaide)

Cambridge Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

• Founded in 2006
• Originally designed for scientific exploration under the arctic ice
• Compete annually in the Student Autonomous Underwater Challenge Europe
• Won 1^st place in the 2013 competition with Barracuda

Full Blue Racing

• 60 students
• Design & build a single seater racing car
• 450 Formula Student Teams, 100 teams compete
• Assessed on (1) speed & handling, (2) Business/design presentations
• Promoted to Class 1 in 2014