Heading into the 2018 IET Leadership Programme, I had already gained some experience working on team-based projects throughout my university studies and engineering vacation programs. I was expecting something similar throughout this Leadership Programme with IET, where I would leverage and build upon the same skills I had been developing throughout university and perhaps improve on some skills which I was lacking. Whilst this program definitely made use of many skills I already had, I found that the skills I mostly used were skills which I had not considered the significance of and importance in the industry, prior to this.


We were initially 5 strangers, set the task of the DIY Engineering project. The title of this project was defined at the start as: Using kinetic energy to power a GPS tracking system. In other words, we would attempt to harness the movement energy which animals use every day to power a GPS tracking device, which could be particularly useful for animals which are endangered or difficult to track. Although the title may sound very defined, the idea of this project was to work toward something alike the title, however, what we achieved, in the end, was entirely up to us. This made things more difficult than it initially seemed.


We started by forming communication groups on what we found to be the most convenient platforms. We made group chats on Facebook, and pages to upload documents, including research, schedules and ideas. We planned to have a face-to-face meeting every fortnight, with catch-ups weekly online through Facebook. We even made a rough schedule including due dates for tasks for each member, split up to make use of the different skills we had. This project started off very well, with research being made into Kinetic charging devices, battery storage and GPS systems used on animals. However, a few weeks after the start, progress slowed very quickly. We had one member drop out due to other life commitments, two of the remaining four members going into graduate positions, and the last members heading into final year exams and thesis. After many weeks of slowed progress, we realised that we needed to plan our time better, schedule the progress required and clearly define the end goal so that we could ensure we achieve something we are all proud of. We quickly realised the importance of planning and maintaining a high level of communication, particularly communicating when things are not going to plan. We learnt most importantly that it is best to be upfront and honest to amend the issues quickly without damaging the project. We made use of this new plan and project scope, to ensure that our achievements were heading in the right direction. We learnt that in the future, there should be a brief risk assessment to ensure that when things do go wrong, like losing group members, the project will still have a high chance of meeting the end goal successfully.


At the end of this project, we were able to successfully design and construct a kinetic energy charging and storage device, which was used to power LED lights. Although, this is admittedly a long way off the initial project title, showing the construction and use of kinetic energy as a means of electricity storage is a massive step in the right direction. Overall, we felt that the skills we learnt will assist us in our careers and everyday life. We learnt the importance of teamwork, communication, planning, risk assessment, leadership and perhaps most importantly, the drive to develop our skills.


- Lachlan Strickland