Engineering Excellence in Action: A Day with NU Teams

This month, BlueZone Group had the pleasure of spending a day with NU Teams—the University of Newcastle’s professional engineering student organisation. NU Teams is comprised of three dynamic, competition-driven groups: Racing, Rocketry, and Marine, each showcasing the innovation and talent of the next generation of engineers. Projects undertaken through NU Teams are designed to cultivate hands-on technical design and build skills that go beyond the standard engineering curriculum. The program also offers students the opportunity to develop workplace and project management skills, using industry-relevant tools typically encountered only after graduation. As a result, participants are well-positioned to enter the workforce with a competitive edge.

As the regional representative for Ocean Power Technologies, we were excited to witness a ‘boat day’, with NU Marine Teams, feature the WAM-V, an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV). In this practical day session, students simulate competition conditions, working to successfully program and complete an autonomous mission through a set obstacle course. Students can receive points for successfully programming a USV that can identify its location relevant to the course start position and navigate to that location without colliding with obstacles or course boundaries.

As an additional challenge NU Marine Team is also experimenting with the integration of an uncrewed air vehicle (UAV). Their goal is to program the UAV to deploy from the WAM-V, execute an intelligence-gathering mission simultaneous to the USV’s own mission requirements, and return to land on the dedicated pad integrated into the WAM-V. This requires not only the successful programming of independent missions for each vessel, but also the development of a reliable communication link between the UAV and USV to ensure coordinated execution. And that’s not even factoring in the environmental constraints—such as wind, water currents, and visibility—that add another layer of complexity to this cutting-edge marine robotics challenge.

After a morning on the water, we were invited to visit the NU Teams workspace on campus —a vibrant hub of student innovation and engineering. The facility features a well-equipped electronics lab where students design and test custom circuitry, an assembly area for hands-on fabrication and prototyping, and a hot-desking office that fosters collaboration across disciplines. Each NU Team—Racing, Rocketry, and Marine—has its own dedicated section, allowing them to focus on their unique projects while sharing ideas and resources in a dynamic, team-driven environment.

BlueZone Group is committed to building strong relationships with local businesses, universities, and research institutions to foster innovation, support regional growth, and deliver cutting-edge marine technology solutions. Thank you to NU Teams for hosting us! What a great opportunity to see the WAM-V in action in local waters.

Celebrating 25-Years of BlueZone Group