A team of students from the University of Benin are billed to fly the country’s flag high at the Shell Eco-Marathon South Africa hosted by the University of Johannesburg’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.

The team from UNIBEN comprises of undergraduate students from various departments in the university’s Faculty of Engineering and some other departments outside the faculty under the supervision of Professor Akii Ibhadode.

The Shell Eco- Marathon is a unique competition promoted and sponsored by international oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell that challenges students across the world to design, build and drive the most energy-efficient vehicles and participate in a race to achieve the farthest distance on the least fuel.

The event is focused on inspiring interests in science, engineering, technology and encouraging mobility innovation whilst pushing fuel efficiency boundaries.

The Nigerian contingent to the Eco-Marathon in South Africa have received great support from Shell/NNPC Joint Venture and a host of other corporate bodies in their build up to the competition.

The team from UNIBEN designed and produced a prototype car called “Eco-cruise” for the competition. The vehicle was completely designed and manufactured in the engineering workshop of the University of Benin by the students with guidance from the Supervisor, Prof. Ibhadode and a host of other lecturers.

The team from UNIBEN will compete with teams from 13 other schools that include the University of Cape Town, University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the University of Lagos

The events spark debate about the future of mobility and inspire young engineers to push the boundaries of fuel efficiency. All cars are expected to pass a strict technical inspection to check that they are fit for purpose and safe before they are allowed to race."

In a brief chat with some of the team members before their departure to South Africa, they expressed hope in achieving great success in the competition owing to their previous exposure on the Shell Eco-Marathon circuit.

Victor Adegboye, the team’s communications and publicity manager said he relishes the chance of the team being in another Shell Eco-Marathon competition as it will add to the team’s experience from the previous contest.

The Team Supervisor, Prof. Ibhadode, commended Shell/NNPC JV for their unrelenting support to the team and appreciated the support of all other corporate bodies that helped in the realisation of the project.

The team from UNIBEN is not new to the competition as the team comprises of some members of the team that attained some glorious feats at the Shell Eco- Marathon event in Rotterdam earlier this year.

The team alongside its counterpart from the University of Lagos had attended the Shell Eco-Marathon event in Rotterdam with the vehicles produced by both teams passing the Shell Eco-Marathon Standards Test and also becoming the first sub-Saharan teams to participate in the competition.

The Shell Eco-Marathon SA will hold at South Africa’s premier motor racing circuit, Kyalami Racetrack in Midrand, Gauteng with the teams having test races on Saturday, 25th with the race proper on Sunday the 26th of October.

[url=http://go.engineer-ng.net/m/discussion?id=6404812%3ATopic%3A98304]SOURCE[/url]

Good One, UNIBEN.