Deakin wins first place at the 2022 Warman Design and Build Competition

Deakin proudly took home first place in the competition where students create unique engineering solutions to help save the fictional planet of Gondwana, a small planet orbiting a sun on the outer fringes of our galaxy.

Fifteen teams of engineering students from Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand went head-to-head in the final round of the competition, which was live streamed on 8 and 9 October 2022.

Representing Deakin were second year mechanical and mechatronics engineering students undertaking the Machine Design unit. Congratulations to Lachie Carboon, Shaun Altmann, Kade Rogers, George Polyzos and Joel Farr who made up this outstanding team of students.

The team overcame last minute challenges including a Waurn Ponds campus-wide power outage and last-minute issues with their machine just prior to the event. The team was announced as the winner after a neck-and-neck final round that required a video review to determine first place.

Shaun Altmann, a second year Machine Design student, said the win was a ‘result of our amazing teamwork and collaborative skills where we used everyone’s individual strengths to push ourselves and our solution as far as we could. The competition was an incredible learning experience where we saw many designs and ideas we never even considered, highlighting there’s never one single solution to a problem.’

For the past 35 years, universities from across the world have competed to find engineering solutions to the complex problems faced by the fictional people of Gondwana. Each year, teams of student engineers from Earth are asked to design a solution to a problem threatening the survival of Gondwana and to prove their concept by building a scaled down version.

The Warman Design and Build Competition challenges students to push the boundaries of mechanical engineering and apply their skills in creative and innovative ways. By participating in the competition students gain invaluable hands-on experience designing and executing engineering solutions. This year’s teams competed to design a system that could deliver a payload across a chasm and thus save the people of Gondwana.

‘I wanted to participate in a project that could put my skills to the test. I enjoy taking theoretical concepts and applying them to real world applications. By creating something with my own hands, the experience supports and grows my knowledge and learning as an engineer,’ said George Polyzos, second year student.

Associate Professor Michael Pereira said this fantastic achievement is a testament to the hard work and skills of the team of engineering students.

‘It’s great to see our Deakin students performing so well when competing against some of the top universities across Australia, New Zealand and our region,’ said Associate Professor Pereira.

‘I would like to thank all of the staff that have been involved in teaching and supporting our mechanical and mechatronics engineering students as part of the Machine Design unit that is centred on this Warman Competition each year. This takes a lot of time and effort, both during the trimester and during the lead up to this international competition. In particular, I would like to give a special mention to the following technical staff who have gone above and beyond to support our ‘Warmans’ this year: Damien Elderfield, Luke Tyrell, Nathan Semianiw, Matt Zampatti, Rodney Seiffert, James Lamont and Robynne Hall.’

Congratulations to this team of outstanding students and staff on this fantastic achievement.

Learn more about the Warman Competition

Learn more about studying engineering at Deakin