Team Bath Heart: increasing engineering talent in the field of medical devices

Background: In Engineering Higher Education student competition teams are commonplace; students collaborate in groups to conceive, design, and construct a diverse array of products. In the Faculty of Engineering and Design at University of Bath we historically had student teams designing vehicles including cars, a motorbike, and drones. Pedagogical research suggests that well run student competitions enhance learning outcomes and motivate students to work harder, while working as a team additionally encourages peer learning. Competitions provide a real-world experience and give insight into a specific industry. We have investigated the potential for a competition team to increase engineering talent in the field of medical devices by: 1) enhancing learning outcomes; 2) increasing motivation; 3) encouraging students to consider a career in medical devices.
Methods: Team Bath Heart (TBH), was created with the aim of designing a Total Artificial Heart for entry into the international Heart Hackathon. The team began with 6 students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2021-22 and now has over 30 students across the Departments of Mechanical, and Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Some students participate purely as an extra-curricular activity, while students in the later years could choose the competition theme for their assessed project work. To assess outcomes data was collected with a mixed methods approach using interviews and surveys.
Results: Performance of the students in the competition team was strong in both technical and business aspects of the project assessments. Students were highly motivated, devoting substantial extra-curricular time to their projects. In surveys, several students reported that the experience had either expanded their view of what an engineer could do, or they were considering a career in medical devices.
Conclusion: A competition team could increase engineering talent in the field of medical devices.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to all members of TBH and the Heart Hackathon.