Roxburgh College students answer the call
3 November 2008
Roxburgh College students Steven Sermeliotis, Matthew Schroth, Ryan Schoenfelder, Olcay Aksoy and Reyce Toll with their winning entry.
Forget your I-Phone with all its extra bits and pieces - meet the O-Phone, the first-prize winning entry in this year's Product Design Manufacturing Challenge.
Designed and prototyped by Roxburgh College's talented team of five, the O-Phone took out top honours at an awards ceremony held at the Hume Global Learning Centre on October 27.
Hosted by Kangan Batman TAFE with strong industry support, the 2008 Product Design Manufacturing Challenge followed on from the success of the inaugural event last year.
Kangan Batman TAFE project leader Gail Bray said this year's challenge was well supported by a range of industry partners, five local secondary colleges and three very talented industrial designers.
"It was always going to be hard to top the success of last year's event, but I think everyone has certainly stepped up to the challenge," she said.
"We received a wide range of entries this year, ranging from a mouse-catcher through to a water diverter, but at the end of the day, there can only be one winner. While the judges were impressed with all entries, the Roxburgh College team's O-Phone was a talking point of the day."
The Product Design Manufacturing Challenge is an initiative that aims to raise the profile of careers in design, manufacturing and engineering. It offers students hands-on experience working on industry-standard projects and exposes students to sound career paths and further study options.
Industry Partners Invetech, ARRK, Autoliv, Sutton Tools and APS Plastics joined with students from Whittlesea Secondary College, Penola Catholic College, Roxburgh Park Secondary College, St Bernard's College and Sunbury Downs College to work from an Industry design brief to create a new product.
Roxburgh College teacher and team supporter Andrew Garnett was rapt with the win. He said his dedicated team which includes industrial design consultant Bryan Coleman along with students - Olcay Aksoy, Ryan Schoenfelder, Matthew Schroth, Steven Sermeliotis and Reyce Toll - had worked hard over the past few months to bring the O-Phone concept to life.
"The idea was to get rid of all the extras that oldies like me just don't use," he said.
"The guys worked really hard on this project and it's a great way to end the year on a high. I'm really excited for the team."
Funding for the Product Design Manufacturing Challenge is provided Kangan Batman TAFE's Youth Guarantee Program and the Victorian Government.
