Students build ‘vehicles of the future’

Have you ever wondered what goes on inside an electric car?

The shift from fossil-fuel driven motors to electric has meant looking under the bonnet is not as simple as it used to be.

But a new electric vehicle challenge launched at WelTec on Monday will give students from 21 high schools across the region a chance to better understand the differences.

EVolocity will provide the regions students a chance to build and then race their own electric vehicles as part of a year long project that emphasises STEM skills.

About 50 students from Aotea, Mana, Otaki, Naenae, St Oran’s, St Patricks, Scots, and Sacred Heart College attended the challenge launch.

Harini Shanthakumar, 14, from St Oran’s College came in a team of four to see what lay in store for the year and suss out the competition, she said.

Harini said she had ‘‘always been interested in technology, construction and using renewable resources’’ and she wanted to start exploring them now so she could ‘‘be one of the leaders in the future’’.

Asked if any students had tried an electric vehicle before, there was a lot of shaking of heads, but one student offered - a golf buggy.

One of the key aims of the programme is to familiarise students with new technologies.

On Monday there were brand new electric bikes for students to try out, while others focussed on the main task of attaching an elec- tric motor to an old BMX before taking it for a spin.

‘‘I just want the kids to get the thrill out of designing or constructing vehicles of the future,’’ EVolocity organiser Les Black said.

By fostering engineering skills and innovative thinking amongst students aged 13 to 18 years old, it will help them realise their own potential he said.

‘‘Every year we hear of kids coming up with a bright new idea that could be a business for New Zealand. That is exciting to me.’’

National finals, where students race the electric bike or buggy they have built, will be held in Christchurch in December.

Four build camps will be held at WelTec in 2017 to assist school teams with design and engineering aspects of the challenge.

EVoloicty was founded in Canterbury three years ago and programmes have since been rolled out in other regions.

EVolocity is working with Wellington’s Sustainability Trust to facilitate the regional programme.