Students represent Manchester at International Collegiate Snow Sculpture Contest in China

Team from Manchester Met won a recognition award for their sculpted 'Manchester Bee'

Students studying on the BSc (Hons) Product Design Engineering course at Manchester Metropolitan University headed to Harbin Engineering University, China, over the New Year, to take part in the 12th International Collegiate Snow Sculpture Contest.

The three lucky students were flown out to China after making it to the final stages of the amateur competition, and joined 54 other teams from across the globe including teams from Universities in China, Australia, France, South Korea, Portugal, Russia, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

Paola Gomez, Eesha Rehman and Mushahid Ali made up the team from Manchester Metropolitan. They beat out their classmates for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the snow sculpture competition with their impressive Manchester Bee design idea.

Second year product design students were asked to submit their ideas for a sculpture, which needed to represent Manchester, engineering and design, late last year, with only one team being selected to represent the University in China.

Once in Harbin, the trio were tasked with sculpting their bee from a block of snow which was two metres wide, two metres high and one metre in depth. They were given three days to complete their sculpture and braved temperatures of -20°C to do so.

Mushahid Ali, one of the competing students, said: “Overall the experience was wonderful, the whole trip from the sculpting aspect to getting familiar with the culture in China was incredible.  

“The fact that we were in the amateur category was a bonus as we had never worked with snow and tools before – but it was all very fun and engaging.”

Dr Hong Li, Reader in Mechanical Engineering at the University, added: “Our students received a Recognition Award for their ‘Manchester Bee’ sculpture, which is a great achievement taking into account the fact they were competing against much more experienced teams as well as professional artists.

“Their creativity and teamwork was excellent! 

"We would also like to thank Dare2B for providing the team's clothing and helping them look the part whilst competing!"