Now in its third year, the Aegis Professor Undergraduate Competition (APUC) is already shaping up to be our biggest and most exciting year yet. For the first time, we’ve opened up the competition to students beyond the Faculty of Science and Engineering, welcoming students from the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience. This will bring even more diversity of thought and creativity to the competition, and we’re already seeing exciting ideas emerge from these new collaborations. 

We kicked things off in January with an engaging launch event, which saw 96 students sign up to hear more about what APUC 2025 has in store. We were thrilled to welcome Aegis Professor Rowena Innocent, who gave an inspiring talk about the value of doing work you’re passionate about - especially when tackling open-ended, creative challenges like those posed by APUC. We also had the pleasure of hearing from Weronika Stelmach, a past APUC winner and now CEO of Weaving Change. She shared her experience of taking part in the competition and how it sparked the exciting journey she’s been on ever since. 

Following the launch, we opened for enrolment. A record 153 students signed up to take part, our highest number yet. Particularly encouraging is that over half of these students are first-years, which shows how excited and eager our early-year undergraduates are to get involved and apply their learning to real-world problems. 

To help students connect and build their teams, we hosted our Team Mingle event on the 2nd of April. This was another great in-person session where students had the chance to meet each other and hear more about the structure of the competition. To get everyone working together, we ran a fun bridge-building challenge using straws, paper, tape, and string. The students came up with some really creative designs, and congratulations go to our winning team, whose bridge impressively held up four tins of tomatoes! 

Looking ahead, students will now work on their chosen challenge topics over the summer, collaborating within their groups to research, develop, and refine their ideas. While the students will be working remotely, we’ll be offering virtual support sessions throughout the summer to help guide and encourage their progress. We’re already excited to see what they come up with – the ideas and enthusiasm we’ve seen so far are a great sign of what’s to come. Everything will come together at our APUC Celebration Day in September, where students will present their innovative solutions to a panel of judges. It promises to be a brilliant showcase of creativity, teamwork, and entrepreneurial thinking and we can’t wait to celebrate everyone’s hard work and achievements.