Grant awarded to help set up open-source electronics platform Congratulations to chemistry PhD student Ezra Kitson for being awarded a Student Experience Grant in the winter 2021 round of applications alongside Tasnim Hanafiah, a 2nd year undergraduate biology student. The team secured £2,155 for their Eduino 2021 project which aims to set up a multi-disciplinary Ardunio group that is accessible to all students at the University. Ardunio provide users a hands-on and beginner friendly experience of electronics and the Eduino 2021 project hopes to empower students from all disciplines to enter the world of programming. Ezra describes the multi-disciplinary aspect of the Eduino project, stating how electronics can lead to varied outcomes: “Arduino is an open-source electronics platform that provides an accessible and fun way to learn about microcontroller (i.e. computer chip) programming. The projects that can be built with Arduino are endless, from designing scientific equipment to making musical instruments, building robots to creating dynamic art installations.” Student Experience Grants are designed to support projects that help make the most of their time at University by enhancing their social, academic, entrepreneurial or cultural development. Ezra notes that opening the project up as a University-wide initiative will fulfil this criteria, stating: “We are very excited to have been given the opportunity to run a university wide Arduino group thanks to student experience grant funding. With the grant, we are going to fund 20 students at the University to learn Arduino and apply it in a creative or academic project of their choosing. We encourage students from all disciplines to apply; there is no need to have any prior experience with electronics or programming.” The Eduino project will showcase and celebrate all projects made by group members in a special event in Spring 2022. We look forward to viewing the groups creations! Publication date 14 Apr, 2021
