Strathclyde students land top award at talent discovery event
12 March 2013
A team of engineering students from the University of Strathclyde have won top prize at the prestigious 2013 BP Ultimate Field Trip Competition.
Team Hydra with judges David Eyton, Head of Group Technology at BP, Ellen Williams, BP Chief Scientist and Dara O Briain
Team Hydra, made up of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering students Eric Brown, Hugh McQueen and Theo Scott, came out on top in the competition regarded as the UK’s leading science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) talent discovery event.
The students impressed the BP judges and celebrity science enthusiast, Dara O Briain, with innovative ideas on how to develop a mode of transport that reduces the cost of passenger travel in a selected country by 2030. This is the second consecutive year Strathclyde students have won the award.
One of the winning students, Eric Brown, said: “It's an amazing feeling to win. I'm really proud of our team's achievement. It's definitely a competition I would recommend to other students as it gives you a chance to really show what you're capable of. It's hard work but it's worth it."
The prestigious Grand Final event was held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. The innovation focussed on a mode of car passenger transportation in Germany. The technical solution that was developed was praised by the judges for its practical and innovative approach.
Team Hydra’s concept is to design the Ultimate Hybrid Car (UHC), a plug-in Hybrid compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Vehicle. The car can be refuelled at home, using cheap electricity and gas reducing fuel costs.
Emma Judge, Head of Graduate Resourcing UK, BP said; “The UFT competition continues to go from strength to strength. This year a record 1,221 students registered to take part in the UK, and the eventual winners really deserve the great field trip that they will embark upon this summer.”
Team Hydra will begin their field trip in June 2013 for a two week period with BP. They will join the winning teams from the UFT Trinidad & Tobago and US competitions, visiting BP’s on-shore control room at Stavanger in Norway.
They will then visit the Sullom Voe oil terminal in Shetland and will wrap up the field trip by going to BP’s International Centre of Business & Technology in Surrey, UK. The team will also receive Amazon vouchers worth £1000 and a guaranteed interview for a graduate or intern role at BP.
The success marks the second consecutive year Strathclyde students have landed the top prize after Team Aspire won last year’s competition. Engineering students Guy Drori, Simonas Stilius and Edward Kay won six-week paid internships to Trinidad & Tobago and the Gulf of Mexico.
Students considering entering next year’s competition should click here and join the facebook group.