A JERSEY aeronautical engineering student studying in the Netherlands is set to begin research into an aircraft that could revolutionise sustainable flying.
Bo Lee, one of this year’s recipients of a grant from the government’s postgraduate Jersey bursary, is to develop simulations and control systems for the Flying-V, an aircraft design that cuts fuel consumption by 20% because of its aerodynamic shape.
The distinctive Flying-V – shorter than the Airbus 350 and integrating passenger cabin, cargo deck and fuel tanks into its wing structure – was developed at the Delft University of Technology, where Mr Lee completed his first degree earlier this summer.
The 21-year-old former Victoria College and Hautlieu student took the unusual step of opting to study abroad at the Dutch university after deciding at school to research for himself the range of universities offering engineering courses without being limited by UK options.
‘In terms of European standards, Delft is one of the top ones. That was my main motivation as well as experiencing a new country. It was a bit tough because I did start in Covid and I felt I didn’t really get to explore a whole lot. In my first year I was mainly in my dorm, but after that it started to open up a bit more and I really enjoyed living there and experiencing the country. They’ve got a very good train system and I was able to explore a lot all round the country,’ Mr Lee said.
With a course conducted in English, the practicalities of studying abroad turned out to be relatively straightforward, although Mr Lee also learned sufficient Dutch to get by in social situations.
Having come to the end of his three-year first degree this year, he applied for further support from the Jersey bursary to pursue his studies.
‘For me, the justification was that with my current experience I feel that in engineering there are not a whole lot of opportunities if you just finish with a Bachelor’s degree. A lot of the time you need to develop and specialise with a master’s.
‘In my university there was a lot of interesting research, mainly with efficient flights and sustainable fuel, which I wanted to pursue further,’ he said.
To secure further support for his master’s degree, Mr Lee had to develop a presentation on his research for the panel that has to reduce the applications to the dozen or so who will qualify for support. Having emerged successfully from that process, he acknowledged that, in a post-Brexit environment where UK students are liable to be treated as foreign students, European study might be more difficult today than it was when he enrolled at Delft. He benefited from the transition scheme that allows students to continue to be treated as Europeans if they enjoyed that status at the start of their studies.
Nevertheless, Mr Lee is a persuasive advocate of the benefits of scanning the horizon before completing university applications.
‘I think if I was at the same stage again I would recommend students look at their field of study and what exciting things are happening there. There are a lot of interesting things coming from outside the UK – especially Europe – and I think that figuring out where they are coming from is a good starting point for looking at places you might not think of for study.
‘There’s also looking at the university rankings,’ he said.
