A funding opportunity by the European University of the Seas (SEA-EU) was obtained by Dr Inġ. Ann Zammit in collaboration with Dr David Sales Lerida. The SEIEng (Innovative Teaching for the Promotion of Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Engineering Students) project was a result of this successful venture.
As part of the endeavour groups of students undertook a materials selection project. They were provided with a physical product and had to define the requirements for the product application, analyse the current material design and material selection. They then combined this information with practical materials testing and used the GRANTA EduPack software to carry out a material selection exercise comparing their results with those obtained from their practical work.
Several groups competed in showcasing their work through a presentation and the best two groups were given the opportunity to showcase their work overseas at the Algeciras Bay Campus of the Universidad de Cádiz (UCA) in Algeciras, Spain. They were guided and accompanied by Dr Inġ. Ann Zammit and Inġ. Bonnie Attard from the Department of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering. The presentations by the two groups were very positively received. Students from the Universidad de Cádiz also presented their own work in exchange followed by a discussion of their ideas of innovation and improvement of industrial products and networking.
As part of the trip the students also visited the stainless-steel factory; Acerinox which is one of the largest manufacturing plants in Europe. Students were shown several processing techniques in action which are also covered in their modules. The visit then concluded with a demonstration of a Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing system at the UCA laboratories. As part of the exchange program, Dr David Sales Lerida will be delivering some lectures to the University of Malta students following the Materials Selection unit.