Cambridge University Drone Society Competition Launch

This summer markes an important milestone for Engineer Your Vision with the launch of CIC's first-ever engineering competition, delivered in partnership with the Cambridge University Drone Society. The Airfoil Design Competition is a free CAD competition created as a way to give students a practical introduction to aerospace engineering while encouraging deeper engagement with real engineering tools and concepts.

The competition challenges students in Year 12 and 13 to design and evaluate a half-wing airfoil using industry-relevant methods. Participants are asked to create a CAD model of their design, simulate airflow using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and analyse performance across different angles of attack. Rather than focusing on theoretical answers alone, the competition emphasises the engineering process testing ideas, refining designs, and understanding how small changes affect performance.

A select group of finalists will then be invited to present their work at the University of Cambridge’s Engineering Department, where they share their design decisions and findings with a panel of judges. This presentation stage is designed to mirror real engineering environments, where communication, justification, and reflection are just as important as the final design itself.

As Engineer Your Vision’s first competition, this launch represents a key step in building opportunities for students to engage with engineering beyond the classroom. The competition is structured to be accessible, with no prior experience required, supported by guided tutorials and free access to software. This approach reflects our wider aim of lowering barriers to entry while maintaining technical depth and challenge.

More broadly, the Airfoil Design Competition reflects what Engineer Your Vision is working towards: creating experiences that help students explore engineering in a hands-on, collaborative, and meaningful way. By working through real-world problems and engaging with university-level environments, students are able to build confidence, develop practical skills, and begin to understand what engineering looks like in practice.

The launch of this competition marks the beginning of what we hope will become a growing series of student-led engineering challenges, developed in collaboration with partners who share our commitment to accessible and engaging engineering education.