A team of students from Monash University Malaysia has outshone teams from Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand to win the 2024 Warman Design and Build Competition. Held on October 26–27, the event saw Monash University Malaysia make history as the first team from their campus to capture the title.
Acting Engineers Australia chief engineer Bernadette Foley said the contest allows university students to take engineering out of the classroom and into practice, as they are challenged to design innovative engineering solutions to save the fictional planet of Gondwana.
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‘As we accelerate our efforts on climate action and a sustainable economy, the importance of this competition grows. Engineers are leading the way in addressing these critical issues, and as these talented students show, it’s about more than just stronger infrastructure or smarter cities – it’s about redefining engineering’s role in a rapidly changing world,’ said Foley.
Nearly 90 mechanical and mechatronic engineering students from 16 universities competed over two days. The teams were set the task of designing and building a scale, demonstration system that is capable of safely depositing six fur-covered ‘seed pods’ (simulated using tennis balls) into a ground-mounted incinerator mouth. The system had to fit within an imaginary 400-millimetre-sided cube and when activated via a single starting action, it has to autonomously move the pods and deliver them to the incinerator within 120 seconds. The teams presented innovative solutions to save the fictional planet, progressing through rigorous university-level heats to earn a spot in the finals.
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Second prize went to the University of Adelaide, third prize to Flinders University in South Australia, the Weir Judges Award to the University of Technology Sydney and the NCED Best Design Award went to the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
Competition details can be found here.