Jiang Xiao, a second-year student of Mathematics with Applied Mathematics and an affiliate member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), won the global championship in the 2023 "Speak Out for Engineering" speech competition, representing the North East Asia region.

Organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), “Speak Out for Engineering” (SOFE) is a competition for young engineers designed to help develop verbal and visual communication in explaining technical mechanical engineering related subjects. It was established in 1964, the competition continues to challenge young engineers to prove that they can communicate effectively. It is specifically concerned with verbal and visual communication in describing and explaining technical subjects.

Xiao initially participated in and won the UNNC SOFE Heat, an event organised by the UNNC IMechE Student Chapter with the support of SESA in December 2022. Following this victory, she represented UNNC in the North East Asia regional (NEAR) competition which was held in Hong Kong. Her exceptional performance led her to emerge as the overall winner, thereby securing her position as the IMechE NEAR representative. Consequently, she was given the opportunity to compete in the global final at the institution's London Headquarter. There, she once again delivered an award-winning presentation on the Bernoulli’s Principle.

Xiao learned Bernoulli’s Principle in the Foundation Science A module in the Year 1. She found it was a key concept in fluid dynamics and can be used to explain many phenomena in the daily life. Xiao is the youngest contestant of this year’s competition. Despite her young age, her enthusiasm, exceptional presentation skills and imagination of the topic had left a strong impression on the judges.

Jake Fraser, Director of Digital, Data and Innovation at the IMechE, who was one of the judge said: “Xiao demonstrated exceptional creativity, thoughtful pragmatism and delivered an excellent presentation on a fundamental principle all engineers should know.”

Xiao said that her studies in the University of Nottingham Ningbo China helped her to improve the English speaking and presentation skills. She was also grateful for the support she received from the Faculty. “Dr Gavin Lai, has been keeping encouraging me to continue the competition since I was selected from the campus competition. He also helped me to finalise my PPT slides. I added the future outlook of the Bernoulli’s Principle and it was his suggestion to do so.”

Xiao Jiang also benefited from her first independent trip to the United Kingdom (which was fully sponsored by the IMechE) and enjoyed the exchange of ideas representing other IMechE regions in the UK. Other entrants are from the different engineering areas and some of them brought their research areas into the competition. It was a fulfilling trip for her and she would also recommend other students to step out of their comfort zone, make full use of the University’s resources and take every opportunity to challenge themselves.