The inaugural European International Submarine Races, an IMarEST-supported event, promise to bring together some quality underwater engineering with the excitement of student competition. Six human-powered submarines from Canada, the USA, and the UK, will be competing over a 175m slalom course in QinetiQ's Ocean Basin at Gosport, Hants, during the week of the 25th of June. Their scuba-breathing pilots will be looking to achieve speeds well over six knots as they guide their 3-4m craft between the slalom gates at 5m depth.
The competition is both a sporting event and an engineering challenge, whose goal is to inspire the next generation of graduates to follow careers in marine engineering. In this spirit, the race organisers have teamed up with the sponsors to offer a set of master classes in underwater technology alongside the races. The theme of the master classes is "The Engineering Challenges That Were In My Inbox Last Month", and they will be given by senior engineers from the sponsoring organisations. Prof David Lane, from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, will deliver the keynote introduction, and he will be followed by speakers from QinetiQ, BMT-DSL, Reson, Lloyd's Register, Atlas Elektronik, The Royal Navy, James Fisher Defence, Rolls Royce Submarines, Braemar Howells and Ultra Electronics.
The sponsoring companies and organisations will also be running a graduate fair alongside the races and master classes, where participants will have the opportunity to see submarine racing for themselves, and talk about jobs and engineering with the sponsors. The day will end with an informal Sponsors' Barbecue at the Museum of Diving in Gosport, providing a relaxed atmosphere where those discussions can continue. We are especially hoping to generate interest among third and final-year engineering students, as well as recent graduates, who might be interested in careers in the marine sector. We are also hoping to recruit new student teams to the wonderful watery world of human-powered submarine racing.
For more details, see the attached flier, which you are encouraged to circulate widely.