On October 6th, the first phase of the « MyMachine » project, launched by Basse-Meuse développement (BMd) in Wallonia, took place. This innovative technological challenge unites 5th-grade primary students from the communal school Les Apicoliers 2 in Kain with Master 1 students in Industrial Engineering Sciences – Industrial Industry orientation from the Haute Ecole Provinciale de Hainaut Condorcet. They will later be joined by industrial maintenance mechanics from the Athénée Provincial de Leuze.
The initiative, which stimulates creativity and entrepreneurship, brings together different educational levels around a collective project aimed at designing an idea, a concept, or a machine prototype. University students guided the primary school pupils in inventing their dream machine, encouraging them to become future engineers.
« To create a machine, you must use your creativity and imagination. Think of a machine of the future, one that doesn't exist yet. There are no limits, push your imagination to the fullest. Try to find a solution to a problem, think about issues you encounter every day that could lead you to invent an innovative machine you'd like to have at home, » explained Mehdi Oqbani, a student from HEPH-Condorcet, during the creation phase.
The children quickly translated their wishes onto paper. Matthys Carpentier, a 5th-grade primary student, designed a machine that would teleport him directly to the boxing ring, remaining on 24/7. Other students, like Axelle, drew « Bob », a multi-functional robot, while Xander conceived a robot for washing dishes and helping with homework.
Other ideas emerged: machines that dispense meals or candies, robots preparing food in five seconds, a smart pencil case for finding crayons, a Lego machine, or a machine with multiple arms integrating a tablet, a jump rope, and automatic clothing selection.
“"To be an engineer, you need to be creative, and you will prove to us that you can be future engineers."
Following the presentations, the primary students elected the machines that will be the subject of a custom design and realization project with the secondary students from the Athénée Provincial de Leuze. Two machines particularly garnered votes: Oumeya's « Balance Good », a self-rocking hammock, and Luca's « le futur du foot », a machine providing special football cleats for faster running and teleportation to any country to watch matches.
The project is supported and funded by « Eaux de Wallonie ». The inter-school design phase will begin soon.
