NU Teams

This year, a team of 9 Final Year Engineering students took on the challenge of preparing an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) for the RobotX competition, hosted by RoboNation in Sarasota, Florida. The journey was intense – countless weekends spent at the University of Newcastle, rigorous testing sessions at Carrington, and endless hours enhancing our systems. Building upon years of previous teams' innovations, we pushed our USV's capabilities further, growing as engineers and learning invaluable lessons about teamwork along the way. While we may not have reached the podium, we brought home several achievements that make us incredibly proud: • First-ever NU Marine team to reach the semi-finals! • Special Award for 'Situational Awareness' recognising our visible light tower design along with other innovative designs • Second Place in the MathWorks Award for our usage of MATLAB for sensor fusion • Third Place for our team introduction video with an outstanding 87.5% score These achievements mark another successful chapter in NU Marine's story, setting a solid foundation for future teams, proving that Australian innovation can compete on the global stage. We extend our thanks to RoboNation for hosting this incredible competition. It was an invaluable experience, and we’re grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and connect with like-minded engineers from around the world. Thank you to the University of Newcastle for providing the resources to make attending this competition on the other side of the world possible. This was such a phenomenal opportunity to end our undergraduate studies. Finally, a huge thank you to NU Teams major sponsors. Your support has been instrumental in allowing us to achieve everything we have this year. We couldn’t have done it without you, and we’re deeply appreciative of your contributions. Here’s to an amazing year with NU Marine and an exciting future ahead!

🔦 Industry Partner Spotlight: Varley Group 🔦 For over a century, Varley has been a pioneer in engineering excellence, achieving global recognition as a supplier of first-class engineering, manufacturing, and support services across major industries. Since partnering with NU Teams in 2022, Varley has empowered students at the University of Newcastle to thrive in competition-focused teams. These teams provide a professional work environment where students design, build, and test real-world engineering systems, gaining invaluable hands-on experience. As Varley shared: "Varley is a keen contributor to the community, including through support of the local university. There is a benefit in both directions for Varley to support the university and gain the benefits of that support through the expertise that University of Newcastle engineering graduates provide." #VarleyGroup #NUTeams #EngineeringExcellence #FutureEngineers #UniNewcastle | University of Newcastle, Varley Group

🔦 Industry Partner Spotlight: Introducing 3ME Technology 🔦 We’re proud to spotlight 3ME Technology, an Australian innovator in customised battery electric vehicle and energy storage systems for heavy-duty and specialist applications. Since partnering with NU Teams in 2022, 3ME Technology has supported NU Teams in enabling hands-on, real-world engineering experiences that prepare our students for the workforce. The hands-on experience gained through NU Teams mirrors the problem solving required in 3ME Technology’s projects, equipping students with the skills to excel in this growing sector. This week, we spoke to Martijn Bunnik (Engineering Manager), and former University of Newcastle - NU Teams students Gabrielle Horsnell (Systems Engineer) and Jacob Searle (Mechanical Engineer) to learn more about 3ME Technology, and why they’re committed to investing in future engineers through NU Teams. 🌟 #3METechnology #NUTeams #BatteryTechnology #FutureEngineers #SustainableEngineering #Collaboration || 3ME Technology, University of Newcastle

🔦 Industry Partner Spotlight: Introducing Australian EVS 🔦 We’re excited to feature 🔋⚡Australian Electric Vehicle Specialists ⚡🔋 (Australian EVS), a leader in the fleet vehicle electrification and conversion space, specialising in engineering classic car to electric drive train conversion kits, and zero emissions EV fleet transition solutions. Since partnering with NU Teams in 2023, Australian EVS’ support has empowered NU Teams students in developing real-world professional engineering expertise. The skills practiced in our competition teams directly align with the innovative work Australian EVS is driving in the electric vehicle sector. Together, we’re empowering students to lead the charge in sustainable transport. As Australian EVS shared:  “We need the latest engineers coming out of university with that skillset we need… that’s when we started our relationship with NU Teams. We’re one of the few people you can go to for this kind of opportunity.” 🌟 #AustralianEVS #NUTeams #SustainableEngineering #ElectricVehicles #FutureEngineers #Collaboration || 🔋⚡Australian Electric Vehicle Specialists ⚡🔋, University of Newcastle

🔦 Industry Partner Spotlight: Introducing Banlaw 🔦 We’re excited to spotlight Banlaw, a leader in unified fuel management solutions integrating fluid transfer hardware, software, and site infrastructure. Since joining the NU Teams Industry Partner Program in 2023, Banlaw has provided essential support that allows our students to gain hands-on design and build experience—equipping them with the skills needed to excel in both international competitions and future engineering careers. We recently connected with Stuart Wright (Engineering and Development Manager), Clint Wilson (Group Projects Manager), and former University of Newcastle student Ayden Khairis (Software Engineer) to learn more about Banlaw’s commitment to supporting the next generation of engineers and, as a local Newcastle company with global reach, why they’re proud to invest in NU Teams students. As Banlaw shared: "We’re always looking for new, talented young engineers, and we think the programs NU Teams are involved in are fantastic." Through their support, Banlaw helps bridge the gap between academia and industry, empowering students to turn classroom learning into real-world engineering skills. 🌟 #Banlaw #NUTeams #UniNewcastle #FutureEngineers #EngineeringExcellence #FuelManagement #Collaboration || Banlaw, University of Newcastle

🔦 Spotlight Series: Introducing SAFEgroup Automation (SGA) 🔦 We're excited to introduce SAFEgroup Automation, a leading Australian provider of control system engineering services and a proud NU Teams industry partner since 2022. With their support, NU Teams is able to provide hands-on, real-world engineering experiences that prepare our students for the workforce. In this weeks spotlight, we speak to Aaron Christie (Director of Engineering Solutions) and former University of Newcastle - NU Teams students Nic R. (Lead Engineer) and Patrick Gleeson (Control Systems Engineer) to learn more about SAFEgroup Automation (SGA), and why they’re committed to investing in future engineers through NU Teams. SAFEgroup Automation values the technical skills, innovation, and problem-solving capabilities that NU Teams students bring to the table. As they shared with us: "Working with NU Teams graduates has been great. They're finishing university with traditional skills you expect to see from someone who's been in industry for several years. That hands-on experience is highly valuable." 🌟 #SAFEgroupAutomation #NUTeams #UniNewcastle #FutureEngineers #EngineeringExcellence #Collaboration || SAFEgroup Automation (SGA), University of Newcastle, Careers & Employability - The University of Newcastle

🌟 Thank you to our industry partner, Thales, for hosting our competitive autonomous marine team, NU Marine, at their specialist above water facility at Carrington, Newcastle. NU Marine met with several specialist engineers from Thales who provided an overview of the critical work taking place right here in Newcastle. The team were also fortunate to hear from a recent graduate employee who shared their journey so far with Thales. NU Marine were pleased to update Thales engineers of the great progress they have made since their competition debut at the 2022 RobotX event in Sydney. The team looks forward to further collaborations with Thales in 2024. Special thanks to David McKinnon for enabling this site visit for our NU Marine team and for your continued support as a NU Teams industry partner. #jobreadygraduates #uninewcastle University of Newcastle NU Rocketry NU Racing NU Marine