Student success at international engineering competitions
Friday 29 August 2025
Students enjoy success at international engineering competitions
It’s been a busy and exciting time for Warwick Racing and Warwick Submarine, two undergraduate student-led project teams from the University of Warwick, who recently showcased their engineering talent in international competitions both at home and abroad.
Behind the wheel at Formula Student, Silverstone
Warwick Racing, a team of over 100 students, enjoyed a successful weekend at Silverstone in Formula Student (FS), Europe’s most established educational engineering competition, organised by the Institute of Mechanical EngineersLink opens in a new window (IMechE).
Competing against university teams from around the world, Warwick Racing wrapped up their FS journey with:
- A 16th-place finish in the Concept Class category.
- A top 20 finish in the FS-AI competition, showcasing their dedication to pushing the boundaries of AI technology.
- A standout sprint time of 69.587 seconds and 15th place in the main FS Class with their fourth-generation electric vehicle, WRe4. This marks a significant step forward for the team, with a 102-point improvement on last year’s results.
Project Director, Dr James MeredithLink opens in a new window, said: “This year, the team has produced an excellent car with improvements across all vehicle systems, but overall, it’s lighter and faster than last year’sLink opens in a new window. The team came within three laps of completing the Endurance event, which is a massive achievement, and brought home our best result to date. We all look forward to competing again next year."
Making waves at the International Submarine Races, USA
Warwick Submarine, a team of MEng Mechanical Engineering students from the School of Engineering, competed against 17 teams from around the world at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Maryland for the International Submarine Races (ISR18).
The team’s human-powered submarine — Godiva VI — won the award for ‘Best Use of Technology’. The judges were impressed with its novel thrust vectoring propeller and telemetry system for real-time race data acquisition. The team also broke its own speed record from previous competitions, achieving an absolute overall speed of 1.778 knots.
Project Director, Dr Muhammad KhanLink opens in a new window, said: “Warwick Submarine has consistently delivered an outstanding performance, and this year’s team has achieved huge success in reducing the submarine build costs to half compared to Godiva V, yet has been able to create a massive impact internationally.”
Harold KikoyoLink opens in a new window, MEng Mechanical Engineering and Warwick Submarine Team Principal, commented: "ISR 18 was a true test of collaboration, resilience, and innovation. What I’m most proud of is the team's cohesion. We had a single ambition to be successful at ISR 18, and we pulled together to achieve this goal.
“The willingness to work hard and harness each other's ingenuity is what enabled us to be successful. We want to thank Dr Muhammad KhanLink opens in a new window, Nigel DentonLink opens in a new window, Petr Denissenko, and Dave Cooper for their support during the project. In addition, we appreciate WMG, the School of Engineering, High Value Manufacturing CatapultLink opens in a new window, and our other sponsors for their support."
About WMG’s Student Projects
As part of its commitment to enhancing the student experience, WMG offers a variety of multi-disciplinary, student-led engineering projects at undergraduate level, with connections to industry partners.
These projects help students develop essential skills, such as time and risk management, teamwork, and practical hands-on experience, with each member of the team assigned a specific role and area of responsibility. The projects have a strong track record of producing highly employable graduates for industry and academia.
While WMG and the High Value Manufacturing CatapultLink opens in a new window provide seed funding, each team is responsible for securing sponsors and raising funds to support their project. The teams benefit from access to WMG’s world-class facilities and receive support from PhD students, academics, engineers, technicians, and industry sponsors.
Find out more about WMG Student Projects by visiting each project’s page: