CDIO Academy 2025: Students Tackle COâ‚‚ Capture Through Design and Prototyping
The 2025 CDIO Academy brought together undergraduate students from Singapore Polytechnic and Monash Engineering to take on a timely and technically demanding challenge: developing prototype systems for Direct Air Capture (DAC) of COâ‚‚ from the atmosphere.
The program began in mid-April with four fortnightly online sessions. During this phase, students worked in mixed teams to explore concepts, share knowledge across institutions, and develop early designs—including augmented reality (AR) visualisations, thanks to support from LEAP Australia. The AR tools helped teams visualise and refine their ideas before moving into physical prototyping.
In the first week of June, all participants gathered at Monash University’s bDesign and Build (D&B) studios at the Clayton campus for four days of intensive, hands-on work. Over the course of the week, students built, tested, and iterated their designs, with support from academic mentors, technical staff, and fellow students.
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Three teams presented their work at the final showcase. Team 1 was awarded first place, recognised for their clear design process and effective communication. A memorable moment came during the presentations when Team 1, after finishing their pitch, helped the next team set up their prototype—demonstrating the kind of collaboration and professionalism that defined the whole event.
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Judges praised the teams for their “Wonderful interdisciplinary collaboration”, “thoughtful explanation of design decisions” and “Systematic approach”
Student feedback reflected a high level of engagement, with comments describing the experience as “super-fun” and “an incredible opportunity.”
The Academy was made possible thanks to the generous support of:
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Recarb Hub, with funding and technical input provided by Professor Paul Webley
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The MC3 student team (led by Jayden Cooke), who provided the COâ‚‚ test rig and were on hand throughout the week to assist with testing
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The D&B technical staff, whose practical support kept the prototyping running smoothly
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The Faculty of Engineering, who subsidised access to the studios and covered key consumables
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And the CDIO initiative, whose backing enabled this valuable international learning experience
The CDIO Academy continues to offer students a meaningful opportunity to engage with real-world engineering problems in a setting that encourages creativity, teamwork, and hands-on learning.