NSCC Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) Technician-Mechanical faculty Brooks Snyder and students Kyle MacPherson and Nathan French at the global Floating Wind Challenge in France. (Photo: Floating Wind Challenge)
A talented group of NSCC students in the Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) Technician-Mechanical program have made their mark globally after clinching first place in the first-ever Canada-based Floating Wind Challenge. They've now demonstrated their skills on the world stage by excelling in an international competition.
Floating wind challenges are designed to inspire and educate students about offshore wind energy. Both competitions task post-secondary students with designing floating structures for wind turbines. The local competition took place on February 24, 2024, at the RelyOn Nutec simulation theatre in Dartmouth. NSCC students Devin Wadden, Nathan French, Kyle MacPherson, and Issam Benkhedda represented the College. They were the winning team and moved on to compete in the international Floating Wind Challenge hosted by the Belgium-based not-for-profit OffshoreWind4Kids in France.
A growing industry
Offshore wind energy comes from wind turbines in the sea, making electricity. Canada has wind farms on land but doesn't currently have any in the ocean. However, the Canadian federal government is currently completing a regional assessment for offshore wind in Nova Scotia. As part of this initiative, the province aims to lease areas capable of generating up to 5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, with the first call for bids anticipated by 2025. To meet this goal, it's essential to cultivate a skilled and knowledgeable workforce for the future, particularly in the fields of marine technology and sustainable energy, inspiring COVE to facilitate the competition in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Winning the local competition
While program faculty informed the students about the competition, it was something they signed up for on their own. The group spent their holiday break preparing for the local competition. "This wasn't our only project. We were splitting time between personal lives, the wind turbine, work and our final semester in the program. It was tough, but it came together and I'm very, very proud of that," says Devin.
Students competing in the local Floating Wind Challenge in Dartmouth (Video: COVE)
Each structure went through varying levels of simulated wind and waves. For the NSCC team, their design concept stayed the same for the most part but went through some small iterations, evolving into the final prototype. The team says assembling their creation for the first time was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating when they put it to the test. Yet, their hard work paid off as they won first place, earning them a spot to take part in the global competition.
"I personally had confidence in our design. But I didn't have confidence in our assembling abilities," admits Devin. "I think all in all, everything went better than we had expected. And honestly, I was incredibly impressed by how everything came together," he adds.
Finalists in France
Kyle and Nathan represented NSCC on Team CAD Tech at the global competiton in France where they competed against 20 other teams and went on to win the Best Low-Tech Solution Award. Brooks Synder is faculty for the CAD Technician-Mechanical program and is proud of the student's accomplishments. "It's great to see students succeeding at this level," he says. Brooks joined the four students in France and cheered them on from the sidelines.
The students found the experience highly valuable, gaining hands-on skills in project management, budgeting, estimations, and more. "It's an invaluable experience to go through this process, which is a huge part of our program," says Kyle. "It's good for the resume and will be a great experience. We were excited to be a part of it."
