Engineering students showcase their genius at EnGenius 2025

RMIT University’s graduating cohort of undergraduate engineering students have exhibited their capstone projects to industry, academic supervisors and the general public, showcasing visionary solutions to real-world problems.

This year marked the anticipated return of EnGenius to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, where around 1,500 people, including students, academics, industry representatives and members of the public, came together to celebrate excellence in student engineering.

The annual event is an opportunity for graduating students to share their work with a broad audience and make industry connections as they prepare to step into the workforce.

Projects cover a range of engineering disciplines, including aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil and infrastructure, environmental, electrical, electronics and telecommunications, mechanical and automotive, and manufacturing, mechatronics and materials.

Among the attendees at EnGenius 2025 was Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos, who noted the exceptionally high calibre of projects.

“I was thoroughly impressed by the students I met and who talked me through their projects,” said Itsiopoulos.

“The future of Engineering is indeed bright.”

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos

Students tap into RMIT’s research ecosystem

Double degree in Civil Engineering and Business Management student James Mellos worked with his team on a method to model Fat, Oil and Grease (FOG) buildup in sewer systems.

These congealed blockages, formed when FOG binds with wet wipes and other debris, reduce sewer capacity and trigger overflows, leading to costly maintenance, environmental damage and public health risks.

James said a highlight of the project was collaborating with RMIT researchers who are leaders in the field.

“I worked under the supervision of Dr. Biplob Pramanik, Senior Lecturer and Director of RMIT’s Water: Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) Research Centre.

“His expertise in wastewater treatment and environmental engineering was invaluable in guiding the project to align with current industry challenges and scientific best practice,” said James.

Biomedical Engineering student Sarah Thompson also immersed herself in RMIT’s research ecosystem as part of her project on enhancing disease detection through biosensing.

“We worked with the ARC Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS) and the Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre (InPAC).

“This was an invaluable experience, and the support, guidance and knowledge we gained from our supervisor, Cesar Huertas, our mentors, Evan Diamandikos, Sonya Plamer and Tetsuya Shimogaki, as well as the entire research team, was incredible,” said Sarah.

Malcolm and his team

Industry backing key to success

Student Malcolm Gonsalves and his team worked closely with compostable packaging company WeSea to develop their project on biodegradable food stickers.

Malcolm, who is studying a double degree in Chemical Engineering and Business Management, said industry involvement was crucial to the success of the project and its potential future commercial applications.

The team used samples of WeSea’s soft packaging, made from seaweed, to design their biodegradable adhesives for supermarket produce, which can be safely discarded in home compost bins and broken down in the environment over time.

“Studying WeSea’s products provided our team with a solid foundation and set of requirements for which to develop our adhesive."

“Working with WeSea now allows us to have further prospects for the use of the adhesive, and we can see it being further developed and produced en-masse for commercial use.”

In their work with industry partner Carbon Cybernetics, Biomedical Engineering students Sian McConchie and Rana Jaylani had the opportunity to use the company’s lab to perform experiments.

“It was an incredible experience seeing real biotech innovation first-hand and observing a product in the process of development. It made the project feel very real,” they said.

Sian and Rana

Lifelong learning celebrated in awards

Every year, EnGenius awards a number of prizes and industry-sponsored awards to the most outstanding projects.

This year’s top prize – the RMIT STEM College Award – was given to Sian McConchie and Rana Jaylani for their project, ‘Modelling of Intracortical Neuronal Recording’.

The two developed a customisable computer simulation of the brain to predict the behaviour of neural implants used for neurological disorders.

They said the award reflects a year of hard work and perseverance.

“We worked so hard on this project all year. There were plenty of moments where we thought we wouldn’t get results, so to not only finish strong but also be recognised for it is really encouraging.”

As they prepare to graduate, Rana and Sian look forward to applying everything they learned from this project in their future endeavours – Rana aspires to a PhD, while Sian is pursuing a career in microelectronics.

For Sian, graduation day signifies an exciting new chapter, allowing her to pursue her lifelong passion for engineering.

“Four years ago, I left my full-time job as a graphic designer to follow a long-held curiosity about how things work, and enrolled in a Bachelor of Engineering (Biomedical Engineering) at RMIT. I barely remembered high school maths and people’s reaction was generally, ‘woah, that’s quite a career change’."

“I want to bring that creativity into designing user-friendly medical devices. I love the idea of developing life-changing technology that works quietly in the background, something that helps people without impacting daily activities.”

EnGenius 2025 showcased the outstanding student talent at RMIT’s STEM College, highlighting the diverse pathways, inspirations and motivations that shape their journeys.

Thank you to our main event sponsor, Boeing, and our industry sponsors: Jetstar, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, IXOM, BildGroup, Alluvium Consulting, IND Technology, National Institute of Technology, Airmaster, VicWater, and Delta-V Experts.

30 October 2025

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