{"id":980,"date":"2020-12-15T14:33:29","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T21:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mechambassadors\/?p=980"},"modified":"2020-12-15T14:33:29","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T21:33:29","slug":"project-ideas-for-curious-students-passion-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mechambassadors\/2020\/12\/15\/project-ideas-for-curious-students-passion-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Ideas for Curious Students: Passion Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have no shame in admitting that most of the ideas for my projects come into mind while I am bored of\u00a0<\/span>assignments<\/span>. If I see value in a project and can afford to pursue it, I probably will. I do know people who take this to the extreme: a close friend of mine built a PID-controlled oven which can be pressurized or vacated of air, and thus used for manufacturing small, high-quality carbon fibre components.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Depicted: my hydroponics system, for which I never hesitate to tell everybody about.<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u202factually think\u202fthat there is value in pursuing projects in this manner. Ideas that get you excited are the ones that you should pay the most attention to; they are the most likely to keep you engaged, and will typically put you in a position where you learn much faster than if you were forced to do the work. When I started my hydroponics project, I did not expect to learn much more than I already knew about plants. Instead, I found myself learning about the mechanisms of nutrient\u202fuptake, and\u202fgetting started with Arduino.\u202fAs summarized by Marc Anthony, \u201cif you do what you love, you\u2019ll never work a day in your life.\u201d\u202fI think that in some cases where there is a market for your idea or if it is applicable to what you want to do, you may end up opening new opportunities for yourself in the future. Perhaps you found a passion that you never realized you had, or maybe you will find that it was not as exciting as you originally thought.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Still in need of inspiration? Here is a list of ideas that might help to get your\u00a0<\/span>brain moving<\/span>:\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n