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“The project would not have made it anywhere near the level it has reached without the design and manufacturing support and sponsorship from QinetiQ. The team at QinetiQ have made all of our honours project experiences much less stressful and overall more enjoyable.”

Early last year the University of Adelaide honours team pitched their innovative idea for a VTOL transport vehicle to a group of QinetiQ engineers and technical leads. Program director Denise Towie said the group were blown away by the innovation and dedication that the students demonstrated.

“Not wanting to be constrained by an industry brief, the student team approached us with a professional and creative pitch for sponsorship and mentorship of their final year project.

“QinetiQ pulled together a team of experienced engineers and project managers to mentor the group, as well as providing financial support to help them bring their ideas to life.”

Producing a Prototype

Over the course of the year, the students met with QinetiQ experts to work through their project plan, test & evaluate their design and manufacture their prototype.

QinetiQ's test & evaluation specialists taught the students about the multitude of factors that go into producing a viable product, and how to adjust and modify design when test outcomes reveal issues. For QinetiQ, the sponsorship provided a valuable opportunity for engineers to engage with future leaders in the field and share their passion for design, safety and creative problem solving.

With the project heralded a success, a new group of Honours students are set to take it on in 2019 and continue to bring to life a viable new commuter transport option that may see less cars on our roads in the future.

For more information on university partnerships, contact: Marketing@QinetiQ.com.au

QinetiQ is the Industry and Research Organisation Partner at the 18th Australian International Aerospace Congress, from 24 to 26 February in Melbourne.