Victoria students succeed at Summer of Tech
12 Oct 2015 - 09:45:56 in Achievement
Victoria University Engineering and Computer Science students won first and second place in the annual ‘Hackfest' run by Summer of Tech, a not-for-profit programme that connects tertiary students with New Zealand technology employers.
Hackfest gives teams of students a chance to step outside the classroom and apply their skills to solve a technical challenge. This year’s brief was to create devices for the home that can be controlled remotely.
A team of third-year Victoria University students called ‘CatFud’ took first place for their innovative automatic cat food dispenser.
Second year Electronic and Computer Systems Engineering student Shaetrun Pathmanathan, whose team ‘Cactus Flowers’ came second with a plant monitoring system, says the event is a great way to apply skills gained during study.
“Hackfest is about having fun while learning about your chosen profession. At university we get into the nitty-gritty of electronics, and these events give you chance to apply that learning, and think about how these devices work in the real world.”
The team had to work through several challenges as it created its product—a device that could make remembering to water plants a thing of the past.
“Our product detects when the soil is too dry, and pumps the right amount of water in from a pre-filled water bottle.
“Evaluating the hardware we had to use was difficult, and we came up with a real 'No. 8' solution to get basic functionality working. After spending a lot of time designing a water valve I realised we could use a fish tank pump instead!”
Shaetrun’s advice to anyone thinking about getting involved in a Hackathon or Summer of Tech is to jump in, and make the most of it.
“I would attend another Summer of Tech event. It’s a great way to learn about what you could do in the future, and get experience working in teams, making friends, and challenging yourself to come up with creative solutions. Some of my team mates were also offered interviews for internships.”
Find out more about Summer of Tech