It's summer - that's the time of year to spend in nature. Sitting outside in comfort, enjoying the weather and the atmosphere. Of course, you need the right equipment for this. And one thing you can't do without is the right chair. And this is exactly what the teams in this year's competition developed as part of the course “Project Work in Teams (PaTe)”. The winning chair, which was chosen by a panel of experts, is perfect for the outdoor experience and met all the development requirements - it is foldable, making it easy to transport and has an integrated table. It was designed by Carolin Thiele, Tristan Busse, David Kappe, Sibo Chen and Zoe Asar. “The chair is made from sustainable materials. It was made from regional wood and is designed in such a way that it can be easily repaired, so it is not a disposable product,” explains Dr. Sebastian Hütter from the Institute of Materials and Joining Technology, who supervised the team.
The teams built their chairs in the student workshop. (Photo: Jana Dünnhaupt / University of Magdeburg)
This year's project was entitled ‘Developing and manufacturing sustainable, multifunctional seating furniture’ and was led by the Chair of Product Development and Design at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Ten teams of students from the bachelor's degree courses in mechanical engineering, industrial engineering and logistics competed to put their own ideas for the task into practice. After weeks of construction on the computer and work in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering's student workshop, the seating furniture was displayed on the campus meadow at the end of the challenge in July 2024 and the best ideas were awarded prizes.
Sustainable and affordable
The winning team's concept is easy to describe: an easy-to-transport folding chair with an integrated work surface. “The fact that the aspect of sustainability does not always have to be expensive was also proven: The chair was made on a budget of just 75 euros. During the presentation, the group looked to the future and developed ideas for possible series production and marketing of their chair,” says Hütter about the winning team. Following the successful final presentation, the winning chair is now in a test phase - it could soon be available to everyone at a fair price and made of fair wood and be the right equipment for the summer.
Practical projects during studies
Project work in a team has always been an important part of the Bachelor's degree courses, and since 2022 “Project Work in a Team (PaTe)” has been part of the curriculum at the university, always with a new challenging challenge. In this course, Bachelor's students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering can dedicate themselves to an interdisciplinary project, which they have in their own hands from the idea to implementation. They can lend a hand in the student workshop and gain valuable experience in working with tools and machines. The idea behind PaTe is that the students first learn project management skills and then take on the respective challenge independently in group work. The focus here is on teamwork - the strengths of each student should first be recognized and used in the best possible way so that the project can be implemented successfully. The team members should get a feeling for their role in the team and thus take responsibility for themselves and the group work - just like later in their professional lives. The link to their studies is established with engineering and economic questions in the tasks that have to be solved together.
Teamwork is particularly important during the course. (Photo: Jana Dünnhaupt / University of Magdeburg)