Liverness Corporation conducted a four-day online science camp from Tuesday, August 17~Friday, August 2021 to learn about fluid dynamics and engineering through the development of an autonomously controlled hovercraft.This is an engineering education program organized by Rolls-Royce Japan K.K. (President: Susumu Kaminaga) and planned and managed by Liverness Inc.Seventy-one high school and technical college students from 15 schools in 11 prefectures participated in this program.

　Teams participating in the program worked on hovercraft development and programming using the STEM KIT programming materials provided by Rolls-Royce and the development equipment sent to them in advance.

　Taking advantage of the online platform, Mr. Hervé MORVAN, Chief of Future Platforms at Rolls-Royce UK, where the company's headquarters are located, gave a special lecture in English, and Mr. Susumu Kaminaga, President of Rolls-Royce Japan, gave an engineer's lecture.

Outline of this experimental class
Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2021~Friday, August 20, 2021
Tuesday, August 17, 12:30-16:00
August 18 (Wed),19 (Thu) 14:00-16:00
Friday, August 20, 12:30-16:00
Target: 15 schools nationwide, 71 high school students
Location: Online

Rolls-Royce "STEM KIT

hovercraft

　The program consisted of four days. The first day began with a greeting from President Kaminaga, followed by a lecture on fluid dynamics and programming for development, and then the teams worked on the development of their original hovercraft. On the second and third days, individual consultations were held to share the development status of each team. On the second and third days, teams shared their development status with each other in individual consultation sessions, and received advice from Rolls-Royce engineers on issues they faced in their development. After the consultation, Mr. Hervé gave a lecture in English on future aircraft technology, including the electrification of aircraft and the utilization of hydrogen energy. On the fourth and final day, a driving demonstration of the original hovercraft developed by each team and a contest with presentations on the aircraft developed were held. At the end of the contest, a Q&A session was held between the participants and the engineers, during which questions and answers were exchanged about future aviation technology and engineering careers.

Special Lecture	individual consultation
contest	(cultural) exchange meeting

List of participating schools and contest results

What participants had to say:
(Student)

• I learned deeply by interacting with engineers and people from other schools.
• Working together, we were able to develop meaningful development toward our goals.
• I wasn't interested in engineering at all, but if I can work with Rolls-Royce engineers, I would like to consider engineering as a career path.
• I was happy to be able to move the sensors and propellers even though I was a programming novice.
• Participating in this project made me realize a little bit of my potential.

(Faculty)

• As a teacher, it was a very stimulating four days, with a series of unknown challenges that I struggled with and came up with ideas for with my students, and also got to see what other schools were doing.
• I felt that the students' thinking and perspectives changed as the day went on.
• You were able to do something stimulating for the students with English.
• While many activities were curtailed or cancelled due to the Corona disaster, I was able to interact with students from other schools.
• A student's future will be completely different if he or she does not experience this science camp.
• Continuing research on the same theme with this team next year as an assigned research project.
• Students, usually passive, were thinking and enjoying themselves, while at the same time taking their craftsmanship seriously.

　This program provided participating high school and technical college students with an opportunity to engage with Rolls-Royce employees, learn about the engineering concept and the importance of teamwork, and deepen their understanding of the job of an engineer.

　LIVERNESS offers laboratory classes (both on-site and online) using cutting-edge science and manufacturing ideas for a variety of schools and grade levels. If you are interested, please contact us at the contact information below.

For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact
LIVERNESS Corporation Togami, Kishimoto
E-mail address: [email protected]
TEL: 03-5227-4198