The University of Sheffield proudly hosted one of six regional hubs for the WorldSkills UK Industrial Electronics National Qualifiers on 18 June 2025, welcoming 14 of our talented students from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Held in the state-of-the-art Electronics and Control Lab in the Diamond, this intense, skills-based competition attracted over 95 students from across the country competing in five other venues throughout May and June 2025.
Participants undertook a series of complex challenges, including circuit design and analysis of temperature to voltage converter using LTSpice and Autodesk Fusion, fault diagnosis and correction on Orange Pip, PCB soldering of a Digital Radio, theory test and embedded systems programming. The top eight scorers nationally will go on to compete in the National Finals in Wales from 24 to 28 November 2025, where they will vie for Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals.
A Showcase of Talent, Grit, and Growth
Our students demonstrated not only their technical knowledge but also their adaptability, engagement, and resilience under time pressure. Congratulations to all our competitors for their tremendous effort and commitment:
Alex Chirila, Chene Hymn Cheung, Chun Kwai Yu, Dexi Li, Florence Clifford-Albrighton, Harrison Daley, Jake Greenwood, Jasper Baker, Jazlyn Sira, Kirsty Tan, Sebastian Gminski, Swapnanil Chattopadhyay, Thiri Sint, and Thomas A. Haley.
Student Reflections
“The event was quite challenging and interesting. It was a great opportunity to utilise existing skills in soldering and stretch previously underused ones during problem-solving tasks.” Jazlyn Sira, 2nd year student.
“At WorldSkills UK, I had the chance to test my skills in soldering, circuit theory, PCB design, and fault-finding under time constraints. The competition acted like a mirror, highlighting my strengths and pointing out areas for development. I even got to take home the working radio I built as a reminder of what I achieved.” Chene Hymn Cheung, 2nd year student.
“The world skills competition was a very valuable experience that allowed me to gain skills in fault finding and building PCBs, but mainly allowed me to focus on the practical side of electrical engineering and apply all the theory learnt within the course.” Florence Clifford-Albrighton, 2nd year student.
“Competing in the WorldSkills UK Electronic Design qualifiers was a challenging but rewarding experience. It sharpened my practical skills in soldering, CAD, and fault finding, while also boosting my confidence and problem-solving under pressure. I have gained valuable insight into real-world engineering tasks.” Swapnanil Chattopadhyay, 1st year student.
“I felt that WorldSkills really encouraged me to apply my skill set and think on the spot, which are skills that are quintessential for engineers in a real-life workplace. It tests you to work under pressure, but also understands how to enjoy the process while working on something you enjoy, which is electrical engineering. What I value from this experience is the importance of fault finding and the ability to further develop my skills in areas such as soldering, hardware design, theory, etc. This is an experience I will truly value and will continue to look back on as I progress in my professional life.” Kirsty Tan, 1st year student.
“This was a great experience. Overall, this competition involved a lot of soldering, especially in the first section. This improved my soldering skills. The theory paper section involved completing a paper that included the electronic knowledge we had learnt in Year 1. This reflected on what I had learnt during my course. It was also a chance to show how much I remembered without looking at the lecture notes. The hardware design section involved designing a similar schematic and PCB using LTSpice and Fusion 360 based on the given diagrams. This included tracing circuit lines of a PCB based on the designed schematic. It improved my skills in designing a schematic and a PCB using Fusion 360, and helped me remember what I had learnt about using LTSpice in my course. The fault-finding section was a section where we needed to find 4 faults on a device and fix it. It improved my ability to find faults on a device, although there is still much to learn when it comes to fixing them. Overall, it was a great opportunity for improving both theoretical and practical skills in electronics.” Chun Kwai Yu, 2nd year student.
Team Effort Behind the Scenes
Dr Raja Toqeer, hosted this competition to provide our students with the opportunity to showcase their knowledge and skills at a national level.
A huge thank you to Steve Williams, National Lead for Industrial Electronics at WorldSkills UK, for his expert delivery of the competition in Sheffield.
We are grateful to our fantastic technical support team:
Jonathan Fullwood, Marcus Haigh, Thomas Plumpton, and Aaron J Hayes, your dedication ensured the event ran flawlessly.
About WorldSkills UK
WorldSkills UK is part of a global movement of World Skills involving over 80 countries, started in 1946. It promotes excellence through skills competitions and world-class training. The Industrial Electronics competition is one of many disciplines through which young professionals demonstrate their abilities and gain international-standard experience. Participation is not just a test of knowledge; it’s a launchpad for future careers in electronics, chip design, embedded systems, and more. The insights gained feed back into our teaching and help ensure our graduates are equipped with the skills for the future.