A rocket engine test stand firing at dusk, exhaust plume lit by the sun

Mechanical Engineering Society

Engineeringyou can hold

Workshops, team projects and national competitions.Open to every student at Leeds.

Join the society What we do

01
Workshops every term

Short builds in engines, mechanisms, materials and structures. No experience needed. You take home what you made.
02
Team projects

Design, analyse, build and test in a small team across a term. Then test it to failure and report on why.
03
Competitions

A Leeds team in the UKSEDS National Rocketry Championship. An in-house design competition for a first entry.
04
Industry talks

Practising engineers on what their teams hire for and how to prepare.

A rotating detonation rocket engine firing on a test stand, exhaust plume glowing blue

Projects and competitions · UKSEDS

National Rocketry Championship

The UK student rocketry competition, run by UKSEDS since 2013. Teams design, build and launch a mid-power rocket to a 2,500 ft target, scored against their own flight prediction. Launch day is at Midlands Rocketry Club in June. Leeds is entering a team.

Season: 2026/27
Target: 2,500 ft apogee
Starts: Semester 1
Entry: Open to all years

Institution of Mechanical Engineers

IMechE Design Challenge

The IMechE flagship student design competition. IMechE publishes the design specification in Semester 1, and teams build to it.

Season: 2026/27
Runs: Semester 1
Brief: Set by IMechE
Entry: Members, any year

Charity partnership

REMAP

We work with the charity REMAP on engineering that improves daily life for people living with disability or the effects of age. Each case is one person and one problem.