From Guitars to Dragons

Posted on: 03 March 2016

Engineering Masters students at Trinity College Dublin learned how to take the leap from making music to making an impression on business experts as they presented personally designed guitars and business ideas for their success in a Dragons’ Den-themed environment.

The Engineering with Management programme at Trinity is diverse and challenging, integrating engineering, technology and design with management and business. It is as part of this programme that students were tasked with the challenge of producing guitars with business models that were in tune with current market gaps.

The goal was to underline the importance of integrating business models and market research with product design and manufacturing engineering.

After working for six months on building working prototypes and drawing up business plans, the teams of students lined up in front of two investor ‘Dragons’ to pitch their ideas.

Assistant Professor in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Trinity, Kevin Kelly, co-ordinates both the Engineering with Management programme and the project-based module where the students do this work.

He said: "A core tenet of the Engineering with Management programme is our emphasis on learning through design – we follow the CDIO (Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate) philosophy, and we believe that students learn best when they are emotionally invested in an end goal, with their learning being something that facilitates them to get there. It is a little bit like the athlete who sees the training as part of a process that facilitates them to achieve their ambition in a race.”

“We know that in our working lives, whatever path we choose, there will be challenges and tasks, and they won't be neatly packaged in a single module heading called Maths 101 etc. Instead, 'real world' challenges require complex multi-faceted approaches – working in teams, using different skills and knowledge, considering both technical and economic realities and managing the whole process to produce the right outcome, at the right time for the right price.”

“This project is a good example of that process – the students have to work together in teams, be creative across a number of domains (such as the aesthetics of the guitar, the marketing approach, and the posters and videos promoting their product) while also considering all the engineering around detailed design, materials selection and manufacture. Finally they have to manage real budgets, find and negotiate with suppliers, organise and manage their time."

Engineers Week 2016 runs from Sunday, February 28th, to Saturday, March 6th.