More than 1,000 final year engineering students will showcase their projects and products at the event on Wednesday 17 October which is set to bring the best and brightest engineers together with industry leaders and the public.
Industry experts and RMIT academics will judge the exhibits at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, with a focus on academic excellence, innovation and potential to have genuine impact.
Executive Dean School of Engineering Professor Adrian Mouritz said RMIT was proud to produce young engineers who were creating design solutions for real-life challenges.
“EnGenius brings engineering out of the classroom and into real life,” he said.
“Visitors to EnGenius can see how a robotic desk arm could help children with spinal cord injuries gain independence, learn how a bike for people with special needs was designed and developed and drive a drone.”
Mouritz said RMIT was committed to preparing students for life and work.
“By embedding industry in everything we do, we’re able to create meaningful partnerships and close the gap between research and impact to help shape the world,” he said.
“There’s no better example of this than EnGenius. The event gives industry the opportunity to meet its future workforce and students the opportunity to meet employers.”
Industry 4.0 is a key event theme and highlights the impact of digital disruption, such as the Internet of Things and augmented reality (AR), on engineering.
LEAP Australia Regional Technical Manager David Graham said the organisation was pleased that RMIT students who were exhibiting at EnGenius embraced these disruptive trends with a variety of innovative and cutting-edge projects.
“We are closely involved with RMIT EnGenius to help raise awareness of what is possible with these new technologies and to encourage more engineering graduates to develop these much-needed Industry 4.0 skills which are now demanded by our industry customers across Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
Electronics and communications engineering and computer science student Peter Kydas is one of the team behind Facegate, a robotic arm controlled by facial expressions and movements that could help children with spinal cord injuries.
“There’s technology out there where electrical stimulation can help a carer in moving a child in and out of a wheelchair. In the future, we see this electrical stimulation being able to control whole limbs. Currently, however, there still needs to be a carer controlling those motions,” he said.
“What makes Facegate different is we are trying to cut out the middle man so the child can have control and gain some independence. Imagine a robotic arm attached to a wheelchair opening doors for them.
“We are very excited to showcase the project, which has been a year in the making.”
GM Holden HR Director Matthew Hough said Australian graduates were helping to spearhead future global electric and self-driving cars.
“We can expect to see more change in automotive mobility the next five years than we’ve seen in the past 50. New graduate engineers will play a vital role in bringing creativity and innovation to our journey,” he said.
“We’re here to show them the exciting work we’re doing here and globally for General Motors.”
Earlier this month RMIT announced an Australia-first partnership with global tech education leader Udacity, which will bring Silicon Valley learning on Self-Driving Cars and AI Programming to Australia.
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Click here to see a video of Facegate, a robotic arm controlled by facial expressions that could help children with spinal cord injuries gain independence.
About RMIT
- RMIT is a global university of technology, design and enterprise in which teaching, research and engagement are central to achieving positive impact and creating life-changing experiences for our students.
- Founded in 1887, RMIT is a multi-sector university with more than 87,000* students and 11,000 staff globally. The University enjoys an international reputation for excellence in professional and vocational education, applied and innovative research, and engagement with industry and the community.
- With three campuses and two sites in Australia, two campuses in Vietnam and a research and industry collaboration centre in Barcelona, Spain, RMIT is a truly global university. RMIT also offers programs through partners in Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China and Indonesia, and has research and industry partnerships on every continent. RMIT is ranked in the world’s top 500 in every major ranking schema.
For event access and media enquiries, please contact RMIT media 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au
