Friday 23 March 2018

I entered my SATRO Four Week Placement into the Big Bang Competition! - Oren Hargreaves





Over the summer, I spent 4 weeks at the University of Surrey where I undertook a project under the supervision of Dr Radu Sporea (Advanced Technology Institute, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering). My project aim was to make an Arduino* open day project which would be interesting as well as showcasing the ability of hobbyist electronics.

My project, in short, was remote controlled tanks with lasers attached. Off the back of the project I received a CREST Gold Award as well as attending the SATRO STEMX Awards. I entered my project into the Big Bang completion (the largest science and engineering competition in the country) and made it through to the finals. This resulted in me taking 3 days out of school to head up to the NEC in Birmingham where I had my project judged. 

Whilst there I had the chance to speak to many like-minded, enthusiastic and interesting students who had also completed projects and also speak to people in industry about what jobs they do and how engineering is in their everyday lives. It was an experience I will never forget and despite not winning any awards,I had an amazing time and was inspired by the talent and hard work being showcased by the other projects.

- Oren Hargreaves 

*Arduino is an open-source electronic prototyping platform enabling users to create interactive electronic objects.

Oren Hargreaves was Highly Commended in the STEM Work Placement Awards at the STEMX Awards in 2017 and is hoping to study Electrical Engineering at University.