Innovative students win national electrical awards

The NECA Electrotechnology School Student Awards recently awarded the commitment and passion of four talented young individuals who produced outstanding products and inventions that can potentially change the future of the industry and many people’s lives.

Three year 12 students were judged to have the best electronic skills and innovative solutions to everyday problems by NECA. One student was also awarded the coveted commitment to industry award for demonstrating passion and has displayed a real commitment to progressing in the exciting industry.

Daniel Messina from the Catholic Regional College in Sydenham, Victoria, won first place in the innovation category for designing and manufacturing a bomb-disposal robot. The robot had a functioning camera, colour and proximity detectors and was remote controlled from a laptop using Bluetooth technology.

National judge of the NECA Electrotechnology School Student Awards, Alistair Dwyer from NHP, said the bomb-disposal robot was an amazing feat of electronic design and imagination: “In my years as a judge of the secondary school awards, I can wholeheartedly say that Daniel’s design is the most impressive project I have seen.

“His robot looks sturdy and operates well enough to enter the modern-day battlefield. It’s outstanding and clearly shows how school students are applying knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world situations, however confronting.”

Wayne Rodrigues from the same school won second place for his computer-controlled milling machine that was an impressive combination of mechanical, electrical and computer software engineering.

Miles Mazengarb, from Rosny College in Tasmania, won third place for designing and manufacturing a device that assists disabled golfers retrieve a ball without assistance.

The design involved a hand device that used simple protocols to control a robot to pick up a golf ball. This significantly reduces the need for people with a disability to bend over and removes a part of the game that can cause problems for so many people.

Mark Heggie from Francis Greenway High School in Beresfield, NSW, won an award for showing a commitment to the industry and career planning that began in Year 8.

NECA Chief Executive Officer James Tinslay said the future of the electrotechnology industry in Australia is in safe hands: “The standard of the projects and the imaginative designs by school students is outstanding.

“Every year the standard of the students coming through improves and I am astounded by some of the incredible depth and breadth of knowledge displayed by students who submit projects in the innovation category. This year, there is an incredible show of imagination, electrical skill and awareness of the world around us. These students are quite simply brilliant and I hope they pursue a career in the industry.”