An upcoming engineering exhibition showcases the “culmination of students’ work” and provides a chance for Faculty of Engineering students to implement theory into practice, lecturer Emmanuel Francalanza said.
The exhibition, which will be open to the public next week, will show off the final year projects of 97 students.
The exhibits on show this year refer to topical areas related to the biomedical field, renewable energy, the environment, electronic products, robotics, transportation, manufacturing processes, new materials and surface treatments.
Each project counts for one-third of students’ final grade, with students having worked on the project along with their supervisors since the beginning of the scholastic year.
A number of different projects from various faculties will be showcased, including a 3D printed prosthesis built with the help of Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital.
They wanted to see how often they can re-use their plastic material
Students often continue working on their chosen research area long after their project would be completed, Dr Francalanza said. “These are often long-term research activities, and some of the students continue working on the project at Masters or PhD level,” he added.
Other projects saw students collaborating with companies to investigate the sustainability of their plastic materials.
“Companies wanted to see how often they can re-use their plastic material to try to be more sustainable,” Dr Francalanza said.
Students then carried out a number of tests to verify the quality of the material after it was used multiple times, to ensure it remained compliant with factory standards. Around four projects that focused on sustainability in plastics, Dr Francalanza added, noting that an increasing number of companies were looking towards environmentally friendly measures.
“We are getting a number of increasing requests from companies looking towards sustainability in their manufacturing,” Dr Francalanza said.
“It is definitely the direction which the industry is looking towards.
“It is economically feasible and companies always look to increase their green credentials,” he noted. The upcoming 29th edition of the University of Malta’s Engineering Projects Exhibition will be open to the public on Saturday, June 30 from 9am to 1pm and Sunday, July 1 from 9am to 1pm.
