The student contest which showcases mechatronic innovation using SEW Eurodrive and Festo products is running for the second year and support is growing. The competition is well underway with participants designing pick-and-place applications to show optimum usage of the products donated to the universities by the two companies.
A student at Wits test drives some of the equipment in the Expotainer during the recent road-show
“The products represent the top of the range from SEW Eurodrive and Festo,” comments Adrian Buddingh, engineering manager at Festo. The reason behind this decision is the companies’ firm belief that young engineers need to be exposed to the latest technology and need to know what is available to them before they hit the workplace. “We cannot expect newly qualified engineers to come up with mind-blowing designs and innovative solutions to engineering problems if they have not had exposure to the best technology options.”
SEW Eurodrive and Festo toured the country during March to meet all the students and present them with more information. The product experts were also on hand during the road-show to answer the many questions from the eager students.
“We are thrilled with the level of excitement and commitment shown by the participating universities. This is the second year of the PneuDrive Challenge. We have tweaked it and taken the advice and input from last year’s participants to make this year’s competition run even smoother,” says Rene Rose marketing manager at SEW Eurodrive.
Each university will submit one entry for judging to the panel of international and local industry experts. The closing date for entries is end June and results are expected to be announced at the end of July.
Last year’s competition was won by Stellenbosch University.
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