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Will James and Harold Kikoyo

Undergraduates, School of Engineering 

鈥淲e鈥檝e designed and built the submarine, now we get to race it!鈥�

Will (on the right)

鈥淚鈥檓 in my fourth year of a Masters in engineering, as part of that we have to pick a big project. One of the options was designing a human-powered submarine for the International Submarine Races. It sounded amazing, something we design ourselves and actually pilot. That practical experience really appealed to me.

The competition alternates between Southampton and Washington D.C. Southampton is more technical, you steer around obstacles, but Washington is a straight 100-metre sprint. This year, we鈥檙e heading to Washington. It鈥檚 sponsored by a charity that wants to inspire people into marine engineering, which is pretty cool.

We鈥檝e been practicing in the university pool, but it鈥檚 only about 25 metres so we haven鈥檛 seen top speed yet. Right now, we鈥檙e hitting about one metre per second, but we鈥檙e aiming for 1.5 to 2 metres per second. The race will be tough, there are teams from Taiwan, Poland, Canada, the U.S. and even American high schools. Some of them have huge teams and multi-year projects. We鈥檙e just seven people, so it鈥檚 a lot of work for each of us, but that鈥檚 part of the challenge.

After graduation, I鈥檓 planning to spend a year in Canada, but before that I鈥檓 trying to get an internship, hopefully with a company that makes bamboo bicycles, yes, they are real! Outside of university I鈥檓 training for a triathlon. I鈥檝e signed up for one already so that鈥檚 my next big goal.鈥�

Harold (on the left)

鈥淚 joined the submarine project because I wanted a more hands-on engineering experience. I鈥檇 done some student projects before, but nothing like this. It鈥檚 been great. Lots of practical work and even learning scuba diving so we can pilot the sub underwater, that was a new skill for me!

I鈥檓 the team captain, so my role is to manage the project and keep everyone working together. We鈥檝e got a technical team, propulsion leads, a safety manager and a project supervisor. Sometimes people have different ideas, so I make sure everything runs smoothly. I also handle some admin, like liaising with the charity that runs the competition.

After graduation? I鈥檓 still figuring things out. I鈥檝e worked in finance before, doing research, and I might go back to that, but I still have an interest in engineering. It鈥檚 a big decision, so I鈥檓 keeping my options open for now.

Away from university, I love football. I used to play for teams, but since joining the submarine project, I鈥檝e mostly played matches with the engineering society. This project has taken up most of my time, but it鈥檚 been worth it. We鈥檝e had funny moments too, like when the propeller blades didn鈥檛 print properly and ended up bending in ways they weren鈥檛 supposed to! It was frustrating, but a great learning experience.鈥�