In late January, University of Birmingham students took part in an enterprising Boot Camp with Siemens and had the task of designing garden furniture using Siemens’ Solid Edge software. Physiotherapy undergraduate Sarah Page was part of the winning team helping to create a garden product called ‘The Capsule’.
Sarah: It was a fantastic
opportunity for three mechanical engineering students, a nuclear science
student and a physiotherapy student to learn, collaborate and successfully
launch a market-viable product. The Capsule was our team’s innovative design of garden furniture that won us the competition in the 4-day Siemens Solid Edge Bootcamp.
Our
idea consisted of two recycled-plastic, low chairs and a coffee table with a
compact parasol that could be neatly pieced together to form a sleek high
table. It is aesthetic, durable, social and compact — meeting the desired
features we identified in our market research of consumer and housing market
trends. Using Solid Edge, a synchronous computer-aided manufacturing software,
we were able to create, refine, animate and structurally test our design in
such a short space of time.
From the product information easily accessible in
Solid Edge, we were able to calculate manufacturing costs to formulate a viable
business model and eventually, a business growth plan. We developed a strong,
inexpensive marketing strategy for a small start-up after listening to a guest
expert in marketing deliver her Masterclass. Our strategy involved using
augmented reality and public, strategically-located launch events for people to
interact with the furniture set, to increase our social media presence.
Finally, with support from the B-Enterprise team for presentation skills, we
created a standout 8-minute video as a pitch for the judges at Siemens.
The
biggest challenge we faced? Working against the clock to learn and apply
completely unfamiliar concepts. It really tested our critical thinking and
communication not to mention, through language barriers.
As the week
progressed, we got better at giving clear, constructive feedback to each other
and delegating, allowing us to work through the tasks we set ourselves faster.
We also worked with another team to learn how to use Solid Edge faster than if
we worked individually.
My
main takeaway from this is that I gained invaluable team working experience and
industry connections.
The university runs enterprise Boot Camps and Future of Work sessions with forward thinking employers. Find the latest Boot Camp events online.
With thank to Sarah Page
Arranged by Jodie Bird