Show and Tell 2025: Global Design Engineering Students Meet MathWorks

Our first-year students in Global Design Engineering recently took part in the Show and Tell competition. This practical session involved one of TEDI-London’s industry partners, MathWorks, the leading developer of mathematical computing software for engineers and scientists.

Under the guidance of Dr Lam Cheah, Associate Professor and lead for Modelling and Simulation in Engineering at TEDI-London, students had the chance to deploy their industry-standard modelling knowledge gained in makerspaces to a line-following robot using MathWorks cutting-edge software, MATLAB and Simulink: “This module – explains Dr Cheah – highlights the crucial role of computational modelling in engineering design through a project-based learning approach. Students begin by developing virtual models in MATLAB/Simulink before translating them into functional prototypes using Zumo robot hardware. This hands-on approach bridges the gap between simulation and practical implementation, reinforcing core engineering principles and fostering iterative design refinement, technical presentation skills, and collaborative problem-solving as students analyse diverse solutions.”

At TEDI-London, we believe in hands-on learning. Our Global Design Engineering degree focuses on project-based learning (PBL), which means you’ll dive straight into exciting projects from day one. Our innovative teaching revolves around real-world engineering scenarios, integrating simulation with hardware implementation and replacing traditional lecturers with self-paced practical learning to address existing and future global engineering challenges. Modelling and Simulation in Engineering also allows our students to interact with MathWorks staff: “What’s really nice at TEDI-London – says Andrew Redfearn, Training Engineer at MathWorks – is the teaching starts with the hands-on work from day one, rather than starting with theory and lectures and hands-on project at the end. From what I’ve seen across universities, when students like yours are thrown into a project and almost have to figure it out from scratch, they’re much more successful and confident in that problem-solving or challenge.”

Students at TEDI-London will be equipped to take on different roles in the engineering industry after graduation. As Andrew notes, “There are plenty of companies using our software, in the UK and internationally. When your students are going to talk to companies, Simulink will be in that conversation. The fact they can say, we’ve designed a system like this using Simulink, tested it out, will be a valuable addition to their CV.”

Dr Cheah introduced our students to a range of hardware and instrumentation as well, including microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators. All this contributed to enriching their understanding of measurement and control: “This is phase two – says Jamaluddin, a first-year design engineering student at TEDI-London. They gave us a Zumo robot, and they asked us to write a program for it in Simulink. We could choose either the given code or write our own. We used MATLAB and Simulink for this project, so we set up our parameters and then most of the coding was done in Simulink following the model-based approach. It was a great learning experience, and I really enjoyed it.”

Zarrah, another design engineering student at TEDI-London who took part in the Show and Tell competition, shares how project-based learning has significantly enhanced her understanding of theoretical concepts and how collaborating with fellow students made problem-solving more enjoyable: “I really like the project-based learning. I think it helps me understand better and remember the theory a lot better because I can then apply it and see how it actually works in real life. Working with the other team members, things slowly started coming together, and we all had a great time problem-solving. I really loved the group work and working on this project in general.”

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Do you want to learn more about the practical Global Design Engineering degree offered at TEDI-London? Book now for the next Open Day on 14 June 2025 at the Canada Water campus!