UCL-JDF Summer School - reinventing the wheelchair

In July, UCL Engineering and UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) teamed up with the James Dyson Foundation to create an innovative week-long summer school. They challenged 16 Year 11 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and design and technology (D&T) students from across the UK to redesign the wheelchair for the modern age, giving them the opportunity to get to grips with what engineering really is and what engineers do. The needs of wheelchair users and the way in which wheelchairs are used has evolved dramatically in the past 80 years, but with the exception of specialised and expensive wheelchair designs for specific sports or activities, the design of the wheelchair has remained relatively unchanged since Harry Jennings and Herbert Everest created the world's first collapsible wheelchair in 1933. The 16 students, chosen from over 200 applicants, rose to the challenge and fully engaged with this hands-on and multi-disciplinary real world engineering project, exploring and experimenting with a wide variety of materials, tools and technologies. They were helped and guided by world-leading academics and industry experts from UCL Engineering, Dyson, James Dyson Foundation, NHS, BackUP Trust, and UCL Medical Sciences. Split into four teams, the students were tasked to build and prototype models of their wheelchair design idea, testing, retesting and evaluating their designs over the course of the week. The teams were encouraged to explore, learn and combine a wide range of materials, tools and technologies, and transformed the CEGE labs and workspaces into their own open collaborative spaces.