Sheldon College celebrated a magnificent victory in the National Finals of the Australian Space Design Competition held on Sunday 15 January at the University of Queensland, winning their fifth title in six years from schools across Australia. The team of eleven students from Years 9 to12, under the guidance of Dr David Hughes partnered with students from Canterbury College, Queensland to present a design of a space cruise vehicle to transport passengers between Earth and Mars. A panel of experts from Engineers Australia, Rio Tinto and Boeing Australia judged the Sheldon/Canterbury concept, which was designed within 24 hours, as part of the competition’s rules, to be the best entry from schools across Australia.
The winning result means that once again, Sheldon College has the opportunity to nominate six students to be members of the Australian team that will compete in the International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC) at the Kennedy Space Centre in Titusville, Florida in July this year.
Speaking after the ceremony Dr Hughes said “This is another outstanding result for Sheldon College. It shows how creativity fosters innovation in Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects in our College”. “The teamwork skills and idea sharing our students showed was wonderful to observe” he added.
Top performing students in Year 12 for 2017, were currently back on campus with Dr Hughes as part of the College’s Sheldon Scholars program.
Fundraising for the trip to America to compete in the ISSDC program will commence shortly, and any company or individual wishing to assist with fundraising should contact the College directly on 3206 5555.