Cardiff and Vale College Electronics students score a Big Bang with their eco-tile plan

A team of Electronic Engineering students from Cardiff and Vale College have won a prestigious Big Bang Award for an innovative plan to reduce the carbon footprint of an art gallery.

The learners won the award, organised by the Engineering Education Scheme Wales STEM Cymru (EESW) at its Big Bang fair, where they were competing against schools and colleges across the region. They were tasked with reducing the carbon footprint at the new art gallery in the St Fagans National Museum of History.

Mentored by engineering firm Arup, two teams came up with two different solutions. One team won the prize for ‘Most Innovative Solution to the Project’ category with a plan for piezoelectric tiles.

Electronics student Alex Deverson explained: “We designed a tile which generates electricity when you walk on it. Visitors to the museum would then be able to generate power in the entranceway and in the café.”

Fellow learner Mohammad Hussain added: “The competition was a good experience – it will give us something to put on our CVs and help with our careers.”

Another Electronics student, Mohammed Basit, said: “It was a great experience and it will help us in our future endeavours.”

Learner Modou Jobe said: “It was eye-opening to see all the other projects and we also got to network and meet with potential employers, which was good.”