Adult grey-headed albatrosses breeding on Marion Island, South Africa, experience highly variable near-ground wind vectors that can result in crash landings, some of which are fatal. This study quantifies the combinations of airspeed and wind direction that can lead to loss of lift or the generation of downforce sufficient to cause such crashes. Using previously developed three-dimensional grey-headed albatross body geometry, we conducted numerical simulations of this rigid geometry across a wide range of flight conditions defined by airspeed, angle of attack, and sideslip angle. Lift and aerodynamic efficiency (lift-to-drag ratio) were then evaluated to identify the conditions under which insufficient lift was produced. Simulations show that for airspeeds below 10 m s-1, the generated lift was lower than the average weight of an adult grey-headed albatross, with peak aerodynamic efficiency occurring at an angle of attack of approximately 5°. While the geometry generates lift effectively under either strong crosswinds or downdrafts alone, their combination can produce substantial downforce. Given that albatrosses preferentially exploit crosswinds at the meso-scale, transient gusts combining crosswind and downdraft components may force birds into the ground, particularly during low-altitude nest departure, increasing the likelihood of fatal crash landings.

This paper explores how role identity enables or constrains academic middle leaders in engineering as change agents within South African higher education. Framed by complexity theory, the study draws on the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI), which conceptualizes role identity as a complex, dynamic system shaped by the interaction of internal and external factors. Data were collected from eleven academic engineering middle leaders during a pedagogical development programme in Denmark. Using multiple qualitative sources, the study examines how participants' role identities are constructed through their self-perceptions, epistemological beliefs, goals, emotions, and perceived action possibilities, across student, teacher, curriculum, institutional, and national-levels. Misalignments across these domains give rise to role tensions, including resistance to change, limited authority, resource constraints, and broader socio-economic challenges. The findings contribute a context-sensitive reading of DSMRI by incorporating a collective, relational lens that foregrounds community, mutual accountability, and shared purpose. This shifts the emphasis from individual agency to collaborative leadership and interconnected identity formation. The study concludes that enabling sustained educational change requires strategic support for middle leadership, investment in professional learning communities, and long-term institutional commitment to building capacity for change across multiple system levels.

Formation flight is used to reduce the drag of the follower and increase range and endurance. However, quantifying how much of the potential energy in the leader's wake is available to, and used by, the follower is poorly understood. This paper explores how the power balance method (PBM) may be applied in the context of formation flight to evaluate not only classical measures of performance, such as the spanwise efficiency factor, but also to quantify what proportion of the potential energy in the leader's wake is recovered as drag savings. A finite NACA0012 wing in subsonic flow is modeled downstream of an identical leader wing. The spanwise efficiency factor is compared to the PBM at the far field in predicting induced drag savings: the former predicts induced drag savings of 37.0-61.0%, while the latter predicts 41.5-63.0%. The PBM shows that, for the inviscid case, approximately 73.3% of the wake potential energy was recovered. This demonstrates that the power balance method agrees with traditional momentum-based analyses of performance and can also be used to gauge the efficiency of extracting potential energy from the flowfield. Future work is recommended to separate induced drag from profile drag in the follower's far field in the viscous regime.

Limited research exists on the 3D geometric models and as a consequence the aerodynamic characteristics of the grey-headed albatross (GHA). Despite existing methods for extracting bird wing cross-sections, few studies consider deflections due to aerodynamic pressure. With the GHA known for its exceptional flight speed and purported wing-lock mechanism, it offers a valuable subject for studying fixed-wing aerodynamics in nature. This study aims to develop and validate a numerical approach to estimate the GHA's wing cross-section in flight. The PARSEC method is combined with a scanned 3D point cloud of a dried GHA wing to create a 3D model and analyse an averaged aerofoil section. Using a pseudo-2D computational fluid dynamics model, the study explores passive morphing of bird wings due to aerodynamic pressure. Results show that the aerofoil morphs to achieve maximum potential aerodynamic efficiency at a Reynolds number of2×105, decreasing in camber. The maximum lift-to-drag ratio ((CL/CD)max) increases from 3 to 44, primarily due to pressure drag reduction. However, the lack of comparison to true bird geometry in flight remains a limitation. Future research should compare the predicted morphing with actual bird specimens in flight.

Engineering education in South Africa faces persistent challenges, including diverse student preparedness, limited resources, and high dropout rates. This paper presents a project that responds by supporting national curriculum transformation through integrated learning approaches that embed both technical and professional competencies. In collaboration with University College London (UCL) and 16 South African universities, the project explores how global models can inform local curriculum design without direct replication. This paper examines four institutional case studies using Harden’s (2000) integration ladder and Fogarty’s (1991) curriculum integration models to map intended and actual integration practices. The frameworks offered a structured tool for comparative reflection and opened up strategic conversations about future directions. However, several limitations were noted: the models do not fully accommodate the interdisciplinary nature of engineering, assume a linear progression not always observed in practice, and focus on individual teaching rather than program-level design. Despite these challenges, the mapping process helped leaders of the four case study institutions herein critically reflect on where they are, where they intend to go, and how integration frameworks could evolve to remain relevant in diverse and complex educational contexts.

Background and AimThere have been significant higher education curriculum reform initiatives over the past 30 years across different global regions in response to a range of drivers such as employability, global citizenship, and sustainability. In professions such as engineering, a key focus has been on holistic graduate attribute development for scarce skills needs in increasingly complex socio-technical sectors. This paper sets out to explore the drivers of engineering curriculum reform in higher education institutions (HEIs) in a Global South context.Design/MethodDrawing on semi-structured, recorded focus group interviews with 28 program coordinators and academics across 15 of the 16 HEIs offering engineering qualifications in South Africa, the research team set out to determine what kinds of curriculum reform initiatives were being undertaken, who was responsible for initiating, implementing, and supporting these initiatives, and what were perceived to be challenges and successes. The emergent drivers were framed in relation to curriculum responsiveness theory analyzed using an overarching "critical realist" framework with structure, culture, and agency dimensions that systemically influence how curriculum reform is constrained or enabled.ResultsThe findings reveal both internal and external drivers that align with economic, institutional, and pedagogical responsiveness. The dominance of some levers over others is influenced by the underlying structural and cultural dimensions that affect agency. While some institutions show agency in curriculum reform, the dominant structure-culture dynamic often constrains innovation and maintains the status quo.ConclusionThe structure-culture-agency relationships that are presented highlight factors that constrain or enable curriculum reform, which has implications for practice and policy. To drive meaningful and sustainable reform, policymakers must develop frameworks that incentivize not only compliance with accreditation standards but also pedagogical innovation and social responsiveness, ensuring that curriculum transformation aligns with both economic demands and societal needs.

As systemic change efforts in higher education increasingly depend on faculty development and collaboration, staff sense of belonging emerges as a foundational condition for sustaining such initiatives. The Change Makers in Engineering Education program-part of South Africa's Integrated Engineering Curriculum (IEC) project-offers a professional learning space for academic staff to reflect, connect, and build capacity for change as catalysts of curriculum transformation. While the program focuses on enabling agency and pedagogical change, an important outcome has been the cultivation of a sense of belonging among participants. Drawing on Strayhorn's multidimensional model of belonging in higher education, we understand belonging as a contextual and developmental experience of membership, recognition, emotional safety, agency, and mattering-particularly important in high-stakes academic environments. This study explores how academic staff participating in the Change Makers program experience a sense of belonging in their academic work and institutional community. Specifically, it seeks to answer the question: How does participation in Change Makers program cultivate a sense of belonging that enables or drives meaningful transformation? Data was drawn from participant reflections gathered across multiple cohorts that participated in 2023 and 2024, using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was applied using Strayhorn's belonging framework, exploring expressions of belonging across five dimensions: interpersonal connection, institutional recognition, shared purpose, emotional safety, and agency. Preliminary findings indicate that belonging is strongly associated with the program's focus on human connection, personal storytelling, and recognition of academic identity beyond performance metrics. Participants describe the space as affirming, generative, and emotionally safe-a contrast to institutional environments often perceived as isolating or performative. However, many staff expressed difficulty sustaining this sense of belonging and capacity for change outside the program, pointing to institutional misalignment and limited structural support for relational and reflective professional spaces. The Change Makers program illustrates how intentionally designed faculty development spaces can enable the sense of belonging and agency needed to build individual and collective capacity for change. Embedding such spaces within broader institutional ecosystems-while addressing systemic barriers to recognition, relational trust, and inclusion-may be key to sustaining long-term transformation. This study offers insights for institutions seeking to support academic staff well-being, connection, and commitment through transformative professional learning that prioritizes the human dimensions of educational change.

The Book of Work-in-Progress will be accessible soon.

As engineering education evolves, leadership models need to shift from traditional hierarchies to more distributed, collaborative approaches. The Integrated Engineering Curriculum (IEC) project in South Africa exemplifies this, growing from a core team of six to a “team of teams” across 12 institutions. This study explores how IEC team members perceive their roles and leadership within this evolving structure. Through self-recorded audio or written reflections, based on an ethic of developmental reflection, this paper draws on participants' experiences, motivations, and expectations, which are analysed to uncover themes like trust, autonomy, collaboration, and leadership agency. Preliminary findings indicate that while trust and autonomy have driven IEC's growth, role clarity and cross-team communication need improvement. The study offers strategic insights to refine leadership practices, enhance member agency, and ensure sustainable impact. The IEC team experience provides a valuable model for other large-scale education reforms, illustrating how shared leadership can balance autonomy with collective influence to drive meaningful, systemic change in engineering education.

The Book of Workshop Proposals will be accessible soon.

The theoretical benefits of highly integrated propulsion systems are highlighted herein by assessing the potential for energy recovery utilization using actuator disk propulsion. Decomposing aerodynamic forces into thrust and drag for closely integrated bodies, particularly those employing boundary-layer ingestion, becomes challenging. In this work, a mechanical energy-based approach was taken using the power balance method. This allowed the performance to be analyzed through the mechanical flow power in the fluid domain, disregarding the need for any explicit definition of thrust and drag. Through this, the benefit of boundary-layer ingestion was observed from a wake energy perspective as a decrease in the downstream mechanical energy deposition and associated viscous dissipation. From a propulsion perspective, the reduction in power demand necessary to produce propulsive force indicated the possibility of power savings by utilizing the energy contained within the ingested boundary-layer flow.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to re-evaluation fuselage design when the main wing's has the ability to fulfill stability requirements without the need for a tailplane. The aerodynamic requirements of the fuselage usually involve a trade-off between reducing drag and providing enough length for positioning the empennage to ensure stability. However, if the main wing can fulfill the stability requirements without the need for a tailplane, then the fuselage design requirements can be re-evaluated. The optimisation of the fuselage can then include reducing drag and also providing a component of lift amongst other potential new requirements.Design/methodology/approachA careful investigation of parameterisation and trade-off optimisation methods to create such fuselage shapes was performed. The A320 Neo aircraft is optimised using a parameterised 3D fuselage model constructed with a modified PARSEC method and the SHERPA optimisation strategy, which was validated through three case studies. The geometry adjustments in relation to the specific flow phenomena are considered for the three optimal designs to investigate the influencing factors that should be considered for further optimisation.FindingsThe top three aerodynamic designs show a distinctive characteristic in the low aspect ratio thick wing-like aftbody that has pressure drag penalties, and the aftbody camber increased surface area notably improved the fuselage's lift characteristics.Originality/valueThis work contributes to the development of a novel set of design requirements for a fuselage, free from the constraints imposed by stability requirements. By gaining insights into the flow phenomena that influence geometric designs when a lift requirement is introduced to the fuselage, we can understand how the fuselage configuration was optimised. This research lays the groundwork for identifying innovative design criteria that could extend into the integration of propulsion of the aftbody.

The Engineering Education Research Network in Africa (EERN-Africa) was created to enable connections between practitioners and researchers with a shared interest in African engineering education contexts.Recognising the importance of developing an African voice in the engineering education research space, the EERN-Africa community has interacted in a dynamic and dialogic way with our own teaching and research practices across diverse African contexts, with an ethical commitment to democratic and inclusive community-building.The objective of this paper is to reflect on the current status of the Community of Practice (CoP), and the challenges and opportunities in sustaining and growing the CoP.A collaborative analysis of perspectives on this emerging identity is presented, using an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology and drawing on collective written reflections and discussions.Six broad themes on the value that the CoP has for both individuals and the group were identified: networking, capacity development, emotional support, impact on professional identity, social and environmental impact, and breaking borders.This paper contributes an approach for collaborative capacity-building in EER through a virtual CoP, underpinned by the spirit of ubuntu.

Albatrosses exploit winds to travel vast distances across the ocean. Their morphology is adapted for low-cost dynamic soaring flight, but these adaptations confer low manoeuvrability, which may be risky when flying over land. This study investigates how wind conditions influence Endangered grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma crashes in the valley below an inland sub-colony on Marion Island. Carcass surveys were conducted in a 1 km2 area spanning the length of this sub-colony (ca. 4000 breeding pairs) from October 2017 to June 2021. Hundreds of adult and fledgling albatross carcasses were discovered, some with evidence of fatal crash-landings in the form of broken bones. Wind data measured on the cliff-top above the colony were supplemented by computational fluid dynamics simulations of wind vectors over Marion Island. Most crashes occurred below the centre of the colony, where there are strong gradients in wind speed and direction under the dominant westerly wind conditions. Observations of albatrosses in flight indicate that most birds are killed when attempting to leave the colony, specifically when flying low above ground in strong wind. An average of at least 41 adults and 40 fledglings died after crashing into the valley annually. This represents an estimated 2% of the annual production of fledglings, 0.5% of the estimated annual breeding adult population and 11% of the adult annual mortality, suggesting a substantial cost to breeding at this inland site. For these long-lived seabirds, even low levels of adult mortality can have potential demographic consequences. This is the first study to document persistent wind-driven, land-based mortalities in albatrosses.

Hydrokinetic (HK) energy production has been primarily developed for use in tidal energy applications. However, where inland water infrastructure systems with sufficient velocities and spatial requirements exist, HK energy may hold great potential. A first order estimate of the wake length and dissipation rate behind a device is necessary for installation design and analysis. Some analytical approximations have been developed to estimate the wake field, although the majority of these approximations do not consider operational conditions in confined flow settings. This paper focuses on the development of a new semi-empirical model for the prediction of the wake formation, dissipation, and flow recovery. Various HK turbines are modelled, and benchmark validated using commercially available computational fluid dynamics software. The developed semi-empirical wake model adequately predicts wake behaviour over a range of performance conditions (linked to the specific turbine thrust), ambient turbulence conditions as well as blockage ratios, which are all important parameters in inland flow applications. The model enables an approximation of the wake behaviour with an accuracy of within 10% over the tested range of turbines. This approximation is valuable for facilitating the planning of turbine placement and determining the spatial requirements for inland hydrokinetic (HK) schemes.

Optimization studies for improved fuselage designs primarily focus on drag reduction. However, when considering an alternative configuration where the stability requirements are assumed to be fulfilled by the main wing, eliminating the need for a tailplane, the fuselage design requirements are reconsidered. This work considers not only the reduction of drag but ensuring a component of lift as well as considering energy recovery potential for propulsion integration. The numerical modelling approach (turbulence model selection, optimization strategy and application of the Power Balance Method) is evaluated through a series of validation cases to determine a level of robustness and certainty. Three cases studies are completed: a 2D, compressible transonic RAE2282 airfoil, a 3D, incompressible low-drag body F-57 and a 3D, compressible body MBB3. The final approach includes a polyhedral mesh and SST k-ω turbulence model combined with multi-objective tradeoff optimization. Application of the Power Balance Method was validated within 1% for incompressible cases, however for the compressible cases the drag coefficient showed increasing deviation (1.3%) due to residual dissipative quantities.

Purpose A hybrid-electric unmanned aerial vehicle (HE-UAV) model has been developed to address the problem of low endurance of a small electric UAV. Electric-powered UAVs are not capable of achieving a high range and endurance due to the low energy density of its batteries. Alternatively, conventional UAVs (cUAVs) using fuel with an internal combustion engine (ICE) produces more noise and thermal signatures which is undesirable, especially if the air vehicle is required to patrol at low altitudes and remain undetected by ground patrols. This paper aims to investigate the impact of implementing hybrid propulsion technology to improve on the endurance of the UAV (based on a 13.6 kg UAV). Design/methodology/approach A HE-UAV model is developed to analyze the fuel consumption of the UAV for given mission profiles which were then compared to a cUAV. Although, this UAV size was used as reference case study, it can potentially be used to analyze the fuel consumption of any fixed wing UAV of similar take-off weight. The model was developed in a Matlab-Simulink environment using Simulink built-in functionalities, including all the subsystem of the hybrid powertrain. That is, the ICE, electric motor, battery, DC-DC converter, fuel system and propeller system as well as the aerodynamic system of the UAV. In addition, a ruled-based supervisory controlled strategy was implemented to characterize the split between the two propulsive components (ICE and electric motor) during the UAV mission. Finally, an electrification scheme was implemented to account for the hybridization of the UAV during certain stages of flight. The electrification scheme was then varied by changing the time duration of the UAV during certain stages of flight. Findings Based on simulation, it was observed a HE-UAV could achieve a fuel saving of 33% compared to the cUAV. A validation study showed a predicted improved fuel consumption of 9.5% for the Aerosonde UAV. Originality/value The novelty of this work comes with the implementation of a rule-based supervisory controller to characterize the split between the two propulsive components during the UAV mission. Also, the model was created by considering steady flight during cruise, but not during the climb and descend segment of the mission.

Computational fluid dynamics is employed for detailed prediction of the hydrokinetic turbine performance and wake modelling. Of these, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models are most widely used due to their ability to resolve power performance and detailed flow features at relatively low computational costs and acceptable accuracy. The limitations of these models are often not well understood when applied to complex turbine and wake dynamics which could lead to potential inaccurate and inappropriate conclusions. This paper focuses on the prediction of the wake generation, dissipation and flow recovery using commercially available modelling software. The approach and findings of previous numerical investigations on this matter are reviewed and compared to experimental measurements reported for a dual-rotor reference turbine. The shortcomings of these models are discussed and appropriate modelling techniques for the preliminary design or analysis of hydrokinetic turbines and inland energy generation schemes are identified. Commercially available RANS models show a good correlation of turbine performance. However, prediction of the wake behaviour is improved by using a virtual disk model with the blade element momentum theory, employing Reynolds stress closure models. These models allow for modelling the anisotropic conditions in the wake unlike the more popular eddy viscosity models. In addition, simplified rotor geometry models using blade element momentum theory are found to adequately model wake development and dissipation at a modest computational expense. The shortcomings of other approaches in terms of wake dissipation prediction and the effect of boundary and inflow conditions are analysed, emphasizing the importance of correct prescriptions of model parameters.