As part of their latest SEP CDT Fusion Training Unit, our Cohort 5 students teamed up to build an electric bike, set to be showcased at the ECCE Europe Conference, taking place at the ICC, Birmingham in September 2025.

The hands-on project, hosted at the University of Nottingham, provided students with the opportunity to sharpen their technical skills while also strengthening key soft skills such as collaboration and communication.

Cohort 4 has successfully completed their latest Fusion Training Unit: the Technical Challenge, generously sponsored by Schaeffler.

This year's challenge asked students to develop a sustainable and cost-effective concept for reworking returned parts, rather than manufacturing entirely new inverters. The aim: reduce raw material use, cut waste, and lower costs.

Nine students were divided into two simulated "company" teams, each assigning roles such as CEO and CTO. Tasked with delivering a solution for spare parts provision over the next 15 years, the teams worked within the constraints of a discontinued automotive inverter and a decommissioned production line.

Both teams presented their proposals to the SEP CDT Industrial Advisory Board, where their ideas were evaluated.

Congratulations to the winning team, Team Stone, for their innovative approach, and a special thank you to Matthias Hammerl and Schaeffler for supporting this year's Technical Challenge. 

Pictured are from left to right: Matthias Hammerl, Team Stone - Ben Fitzpatrick, Shannon Davies, Kieran Burrows, Gabriel Parkinson (not pictured).

In June 2025, as part of their Fusion Training Unit (FTU), nine Cohort 3 students took part in a Café Scientifique "Electrifying York - Urban electrification: A breath of fresh air or a hidden hazard".

In this event hosted by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society at York St John University, SEP CDT Director, Professor Volker Pickert and the SEP CDT students led a discussion of the benefits  and challenges of urban electrification on the following themes:

• Public/Commercial Transport
• Private Transport
• Domestic Property Energy
• Commercial/Industrial (Property) Energy

The event concluded with a well-attended networking session, giving all attendees the opportunity to connect and continue discussions.

Students from Cohort 4 pictured at University of Nottingham carrying out the Fusion Training Unit working on the electric motorbike project.

Cohort 3 students took part in a technical challenge sponsored by SK tes as part of the annual Industrial Advisory Board meeting.  Pictured below are students from the winning team and Luc Peyrin from the company accompanied by CDT Director Professor Volker Pickert.

Students from Cohort 2 took part in an event for their Fusion Training Unit called Steam to Green held at Newcastle's Discovery Museum.  The picture tells the story that the students had a great time inspiring the future engineers within STEM using their Scalextric track.

Pictured below are some of the CDT students when they attended an ECPE GaN-based Power Electronics Tutorial held in Prague.  From left to right are Ben Stainthorpe, Ben FitzPatrick, Kieran Burrows, Jordon Dobson and Glenn Galea.

Students pictured at University of Nottingham carrying out the electric motorbike Fusion Training Unit.

P‌rofessor Volker Pickert and Cohort 1 students Alex Jeffrey, Claire James, Erfan Lessan and Yohannes Tecklehaimanot took part in a session held at Cafe Scientifique 'discussing Are electric cars as green as we think'.

Find out more about this event from Cafe Scientifique's Facebook page.

Students from cohort two and three took part in a training session facilitated by Skillfluence and TES.

A software training session was organised for all CDT students.  This was facilitated by PLEXIM.