Students draw industry praise at CAD Showcase

New College Lanarkshire students have won praise from industry professionals at the college's annual CAD Showcase last week.

Employers, recruiters, and sector partners turned out to see Draughting & Design and Architectural Technology students present their end-of-year projects at the Motherwell campus, with several securing jobs before the night was out.

Architectural Technology students had designed concepts for a hotel on the Ravenscraig site as part of the wider regeneration masterplan, working in partnership with Ravenscraig, Barratt, and Keppie Design. While Draughting & Design students showcased a range of product design prototypes spanning everything from boats to bikes.

Graeme McCormick, co-founder of Confero Recruitment Group, noted: "More and more of these students picking up jobs outwith of traditional practice."

Firms including CD Architects Ltd and BakerHicks sent representatives to the event. Iain Wright of CD Architects joked the work on display was "considerably better presented than my own efforts all those years ago," while Kenny McIlroy of BakerHicks praised "the usual high standards of work produced by all the students."

For the students themselves, the night marked the end of a demanding year. Meghavi Vaidya said being able to "finally stand back and see the finished result on display felt really satisfying." Aryn McShane, who built a working hydraulic core drilling rig prototype for his project, said he was "proud of how much my confidence, knowledge, and technical ability have grown over time."