IMechE Pakistan's Abul Kalam Design Challenge 2020: local heats

The Abul Kalam Design Challenge is one of the most popular competitions arranged by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in Pakistan.

This year, the event was specifically prepared for the participants, taking into account the predetermined competition limits and rules dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

PNEC NUST Student Chapter hosted the local heats of the competition on 17  September. DHA Suffa University hosted the virtual local heats on 25  September with 11 competing participants divided into three teams.

The challenge

The challenge, this year, asked the teams to design a 'line launcher', a mechanism capable of shooting a squash ball over varying lengths, connected to a line. The rubric used for judging the students was as follows: -

The teams were to be credited a total of 100 points based on two modules;

1. Firstly, 20 points in the Poster Competition, judged on the ingenuity in the use of colour combinations, text and space by students to effectively express the message while changing the constraints (size and orientation) offered. On the poster, appropriate team and university representation are also judged.
2. The remaining 80 points are credited based on the technical report. This required participants to give a text-based description as well as a 3D model justified by engineering science. The cost analysis also played an important role in allotting the points. The defined budget was £30 and as the competition was virtual, the students were asked to provided references for the purchases they had in mind through different online stores such as Alibaba, Amazon, etc., therefore broadening the scope of search whilst keeping them safe at home.

DHA Suffa University event

The event formally began at 10am when, after a short welcoming speech given by Hoorain Azhar, the  participating team leaders were introduced one at a time. Presenting team members were first expected to introduce themselves and state their role in the presented project. The judges then questoned each member of the team individually about their contributions in the technical report submitted with each team being interviewed for a total of 30 minutes.

The judging panel consisted of the faculty of the DSU’s Mechanical Engineering Department,

• Engr. Dr. Haider Ali
• Engr. Dr. Muhammad Farrukh Shahab
• Engr. Dr. Muhammad Usama Siddiqui
• Engr. Zeeshan Vohra
• Engr. Hassaan Hussain.

In order to explore every part of the concepts presented, the judges questioned the teams with the utmost honesty and expertise. In order to provide them with a professional viewpoint, the judges also went a step further and gave advice on potential improvements for each project.

The final standings of teams were as follows:

1st place: Team A

• Muhammad Ibrahim (Team Leader)
• M. Basil Nagani
• Mirza Muhammad Ali
• Khawaja Moin-ud-din Jamal.

2nd place: Team B

3rd Position: Team C

• Asad Shah (Team Leader)
• Aazan Shahid
• Fahad Nadeem.

After the results were announced, Dr. Farrukh Shahab commended every participant and each competing team, regardless of their standing in the final results. He also appreciated the efforts of IMechE DSU Student Chapter to ideally arrange the event even though it was a huge challenge to convey the true nature of a design competition on a virtual platform.

Pakistan Navy Engineering College (PNEC) event

PNEC's event took place on 17 September 2020.  The event was announced and advertised through various posts on WhatsApp and the official Facebook page of IMechE NUST PNEC Student Chapter from late August. The posts included details and specifications of the event, an announcement of mentors for the teams, and registration forms and procedures. designed to engage the students' interest. PNEC's first year students were mailed the competition and registration details and reminders to make sure each student was aware of the competition. 

The event was managed by Mr. Muhammad Ali, registration lead, and Mr. Abdul Moiz Ali, public relations lead, who are the third-year and second-year mechanical engineering students respectively.  Mentors from the second-year mechanical engineering students at PNEC, were assigned to the teams to help with their concepts and motivation; all mentors who were chosen had experience from taking part in the Abul Kalam Design Challenge last year and making it to the national phase.

• Farzan Ahmed Nisar
• Umar Sultan
• Uzair Mudassir

The event began with the presentation of insightful reports and posters from participants. The submissions were judged wisely by Dr Muhammad Nasir Bashir, the highly educated and experienced Assistant Professor at NUST-PNEC.

The winner and runner-up teams were as follows:

• Ist place: Team Brute Force consisting of students of Electrical Engineering Taimur Shahzad, Fayzan Baig, and Abdul Mateen.
• Runner-up: Team Epsilon of Mechanical Engineering students Uzair Bhatti and Mustafa Maqsood.

The design of the successful team was unique, consisting of an adjustable, safe, and flexible line launcher which was also cost-friendly and reliable. After the official announcement of the winner on IMechE NUST-PNEC’s Facebook page, the constructive feedback to all the participants was provided by the judge.