Hallam intern helps redevelop Team GB travel kit

8th November 2016

A Sheffield Hallam University student has helped a leading bike company redevelop one of their leading products using 3D printing technology.

Sam Baker, who studies design within the University's Sheffield Institute of Arts has been working with bike kit company Polaris to revamp their Bike Pod Pro - a way of packing and transporting your bike when travelling - with the new version of the product launching in January. Working with Polaris, Sam incorporated 3D modelling and printing into the design process - streamlining the cumbersome, traditional prototyping process. The redesign will see improvements to the product's security and mobility, with Team GB triathletes Lucy Hall and Mark Buckingham already impressed by the design when they visited Polaris recently. Polaris Brand Manager Andy Beach said: -We were always confident that a Sheffield Institute of Arts student was going to come to us with high skill levels, given the Institute's reputation. However, the new methods we have been able to implement thanks to the partnership have allowed us to take significant steps forward in both the Pod's design and our design process as a whole. Sam said: -When I arrived here, the team's enthusiasm for what they did and for cycling in general really impressed me. These people are passionate about what they do, and they really want to show off about that. -The things I learned in the first month alone have been invaluable. It's a very different way of learning to the structured approach at university. I've not necessarily had someone stood over my shoulder teaching me, but that's helped me to adapt to the project, and make sure that I'm always on top of what I need to be doing and might be needed to done in the future." Sam Baker is the second member of the Institute of Arts that Polaris has taken on in the past 12 months, and Conor Moss, Director of Education and Employer Partnerships at Sheffield Hallam, said: "The University is focused on ensuring students graduate with the best possible experience ready to develop their careers and match our talented students with employers. I think Sam's experience really highlights that interns can have a positive impact for a business and really help them to innovate by putting their learning into practice. Sam's placement is the latest of the SHU Internship Scheme, which is offering up to 100 funded internships with national and local businesses. The innovative internship scheme provides students with a chance to develop skills relevant to their degree and get paid, with opportunities including digital marketing, prosthetics engineering and aerospace engineering. The SHU Internship Scheme offers students paid placements in partnership with businesses including national companies such as Alcoa, Capita, Arcadia and Diesel as well as local organisations including Merlinsoft, Cavendish Cancer Care and Sheffield United FC.