Radio Frequency Engineering & Communications Competition

Radio Frequency (RF) engineering and communications are an important part of the Electronics sector in the UK; however the decline in numbers of young people taking an interest in radio communications has created a specific skills shortage. To help tackle this, the UKESF collaborates with the Radio Communications Foundation (RCF) to run a competition to encourage undergraduate interest in RF Engineering.

The Competition

This national competition is open to undergraduates who are completing their major individual project (3^rd or 4^th year; 4^th or 5^th year in Scotland) in 2021/22, with a principal focus on RF engineering and communications. Entrants are required to submit to their university contact a summary of their project in the form of either an A1 printable poster, a video (via YouTube) or a report (no more than 1,500 words, including any references and footnotes). The summary should include:

• Aim and objectives relating to RF engineering and communications
• A circuit diagram (if applicable; projects based on simulations still eligible)
• Results
• Impact and outcome in relation to RF engineering and communications
• Next steps

Entries are submitted to the UKESF via the entrant’s university by Friday 17th June. Each university then submits their top three entries to the UKESF by the end of June. Winners are usually announced at an event in the autumn.

Prizes

The overall winner will receive £1,000, with one runner-up receiving £500. Winners will be expected to help promote RF Engineering and Communications.

Eligibility

To qualify, entrants must:

• Be registered at a UKESF partner university on a BEng or MEng degree that contains a substantial amount of Electronics or Electronic Engineering;
• Qualify as a UK or EU student for tuition fees or be a British National, with a permanent right to work in the UK upon graduation;
• Submit their own work; no pairing or team entries will be accepted.

Any questions, please email [email protected].

Past Winners

2021

Winner: UKESF Scholar Patrick Hope (Surrey/R-P-R)

Runner-up: Max Rigby (Loughborough)

2020

Winner: UKESF Scholar Matthew Bridges (University of Surrey/SEA)

Runners-up: Tom Moody (University of Southampton/Meggitt) and Jessica Kelly (Loughborough University)

2019

Winner: UKESF Scholar Andrey Miroshnikov (University of Bristol/Dialog Semiconductor)

Runners-up: Edward Lewis (Lancaster University) and Calum Bolland (University of Edinburgh).

2018

Winner: Jonathan Rawlinson (Imperial College London)

Runners-up: Max Landles (Heriot-Watt University) and Scott Dearnaley (Lancaster University)

2017

Winner: Mihnea Trifan (University of Sheffield)

Runners-up: Samantha Heyes (Loughborough University) and Rob Astill (University of Bath)