School pupils design and build self-driving robotic cars with support from CDT PhD researcher
PhD researcher David Gérard joined UCL's Access Team this summer to help Year 12 students design, build and programme their own self-balancing, self-driving robotic cars as part of the ‘Engineering for All’ residential summer school
UCL’s Access Team works with academic departments to provide a range of subject-specific activities, events and programmes, varying in size and subject. The ‘Engineering for All’ residential summer school organised by the team ran from 6 to 10 July 2026. The five-day programme introduced 30 students considering a future in engineering to a range of practical engineering skills through a team-based design challenge.
Working alongside PhD researcher, David Gérard, and the Access Team, participants gained hands-on experience in electronics, coding, CAD design and 3D printing, while developing solutions to real-world engineering problems. By the end of the programme, each school student had built a fully functional robotic vehicle, from scratch.
David said, "I really enjoyed taking part in this year's summer school. It was inspiring to see so many young people excited about science, engineering and the possibility of pursuing research careers in the future."
The programme helped demonstrated UCL's commitment to broadening participation in engineering, with approximately equal numbers of female and male participants and many students from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM subjects.
By supporting initiatives such as Engineering for All, CDT students like David Gérard help inspire the next generation of engineers while developing their own skills in communication, mentoring and public engagement.
Find out more:
UCL’s Access initiatives: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/widening-participation/learners/access-initiatives#
David Gérard is a PhD student at UCL on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Connected Electronic and Photonic Systems (CEPS CDT) programme. His PhD research is on Photonic Integrated Circuits for Neuromorphic Computing and AI Acceleration, supervised by Dr Alfonso Ruocco, funded by EPSRC programme grant EP/S022139/1.
David Gérard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-gerard-cu/
David Gérard GitHub: https://github.com/David-GERARD
Credits:
Main image: © UCL Engineering 2026
Original article published July 2026 on UCL Engineering Instagram.