Project Leader: Dr Katherine Fraser, Department of Mechanical Engineering

This project, which was awarded funding by the Teaching Development Fund (TDF) Seed, aims to include students with a wider range of engineering interests in competition-based learning activities. This will be done by forming a self-sustaining competition team who will produce competitive entries in the HeartHackathon.

Competition-based learning is a large component of the undergraduate learning activity within the Faculty of Engineering and Design with student teams entering a range of competitions including, amongst others, Formula Student, Isle of Man TT Zero, IMechE UAS Challenge and Spaceport America Cup. In relation to our assessed curriculum, competition-based learning commences in earnest through group projects in the third year and continues through individual projects in the fourth year. Students from other years participate in the teams as an extra-curricular activity.

So, in cars, bikes, drones and rockets Bath students have pitted their engineering abilities against the world, and yet, despite the broad scope of the technical challenges encompassed within these projects, for each, the overall goal is to build a vehicle. Medical technology forms an interesting and growing sector of engineering and so, to increase the diversity of competition teams within the faculty, appeal to a broader range of students, and enable students with a wider variety of interests and personalities to participate, we have initiated Team Bath Heart. This brand-new competition team are creating an artificial heart and will be entering the HeartHackathon, a worldwide, interdisciplinary competition to design a Total Artificial Heart.

Dr Fraser was able to give an update on the project at Edufest 2023, in the form of a lightning talk