Engineering students set their sights on the prestigious Craftsman CUP

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) based at RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire, recently delivered a presentation to Cambridge Regional College BTEC National Engineering students, launching the Craftsman CUP, a competitive engineering competition for college students. 

Engineering Lecturer, Habib Rahman said, “The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) have been working with colleges since 2016 to put together this unique learning experience. Students will gain ‘real world’ exposure of the work of the REME through multidisciplinary engineering projects based on problems that the REME engineers face on a daily basis. The work of our students is essentially supporting the British Army. College students will work in project teams to engineer a solution to a given REME ‘problem’ with an overall team being awarded the Craftsman CUP.”

A total of 9 colleges are participating in the Craftsman CUP, which will see teams of Engineering students select from a choice of project briefs to address everyday issues faced by the REME. Over the coming months, 25 CRC Engineering students will start working in competition teams of 5 or 6 engineers. Project teams will be allocated a REME mentor to support their work and an off-site visit to RAF Lyneham will allow the students to explore the base and careers within the Army while providing the opportunity for teams to update their mentor on the progress being made in their chosen project. 

Between now and May 2022, the projects will be assessed by REME mentors within college, and the most impressive design concepts will be selected to progress to the finale at RAF Lyneham. In the finale, the teams will showcase their design, innovation, and craftsmanship abilities to a panel of REME dignitaries and the winning team will be awarded the prestigious Craftsman CUP (College UTC Project).

In addition, participation in the Craftsman CUP meets the criteria for the Industrial Cadet gold certificate, an industry recognised award equivalent to the Duke of Edinburgh Award. All students taking part in the Craftsman CUP will achieve their Industrial Cadet Gold Award for taking part in the challenge.