Bella Kelly, Year 10 at New Plymouth Girls High School. Photo/ Supplied
Taranaki high school students are getting the chance to take part in a new programme that encourages young people to design and build electric vehicles.
The EVolocity programme provides high school teams with an electric bike componentry kit. During the course of the year, they design and build their own electric vehicles. At the end of the year, they bring their vehicles to a motorsport park for fun competitions.
Ara Ake, WITT and EVolocity have partnered together for the programme.
Ara Ake head of partnerships Bry Kopu-Scott says it was a great fit for Ara Ake to come on board as the Taranaki partner and it is pleased students within the Taranaki community can have the opportunity to participate in the programme.
"We are thrilled that we are able to bring a programme like EVolocity to Taranaki for our young people."
"EVolocity is excited to partner with Ara Ake and Western Institute of Technology to bring this unique and hands-on practical engineering programme to the Taranaki region," says Sarah Fitzgerald, EVolocity chief executive.
"EVolocity is more than just a STEM programme. Young people learn about design, project management, teamwork, budgeting and financing their electric vehicle build making it a multi-faceted platform that has real-world applications and develops innovation by using sustainable clean technologies."
There are now roughly 64 students from around the region that will compete to be the winning vehicle on race day, which is scheduled to take place in October.
The programme is also being supported by Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) who are providing the students with classrooms to host the build days, guidance and mentoring from staff, as well as access to the technology and resources required to build the vehicles.
At the same time, WITT are educating the students into career pathways that are available including engineering, technology and electrical fields.
WITT director, teaching partnerships Ben Naughton says WITT was thrilled to be involved in supporting the region's rangatahi through the EVolocity project.
"We need more tradespeople, creative thinkers and skilled workers to contribute to Taranaki's low emissions future, and I'm already seeing EVolocity ignite passions in a number of industries that will really benefit our region."
Francis Douglas Memorial College teacher Peter Cayzer says there are four Year 12 students from the school taking part in the programme.
"They are enthusiastic and are enjoying the challenge of designing an electric vehicle together. This project provides them with an opportunity to develop a product and compete with students from other schools."
He says not only do the students learn and practise technical skills, but they also develop skills in planning and monitoring progress, communication, and teamwork.
"The students benefit from the connections with industry experts who can be utilised to help in the design and manufacture process. EVolocity provides students with a fantastic opportunity to be involved in a programme that could change the course of their learning and future."
New Plymouth Girls High School (NPGHS) teacher Athol Hockey says NPGHS and Waitara High schools entered the Evolocity competition in 2019.
"We entered two vehicles and one of our vehicles qualified for the national finals but did not go due to a breakdown the day before. If possible, we will race that vehicle again this year. This year we have six students involved on the project. We plan to have at least two teams."
He says the teams' plan is to convert an existing bike as well as involving students in designing and constructing a completely new vehicle.
"The students are hoping that the project will help them in the future as they are keen to be creative and practical so the model design and building aspects would be beneficial for their future careers in engineering or design or some similar occupation."
Caroline Gunn, Ara Ake's business and digital project manager, says electric vehicles are part of the future.
"This programme will encourage more students into STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) careers. We are excited to encourage local students into EVolocity to develop skills and confidence as young entrepreneurs, innovators and engineers. This is what a low emissions future requires."