In SERG we have a strong history of intern positions, welcoming both UK and international students both pre and post PhD. One of our most recent Interns (2023) – Loni Nickel, from Canada, has reflected back on her experience for us.

As I reflect on the past 9 months of my internship, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude and excitement. The Sports Engineering Research Group (SERG) at Sheffield Hallam University has contributed significantly to my hopes, dreams, and goals for my career as I continue through my university studies and beyond. I truly could not have had a better experience both learning from the accomplished engineers and researchers at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) and contributing to a wide array of projects within the sports engineering field. It is with great excitement that I get to share my internship experience to reflect upon the highlights and successes, the advice I’ve acquired that I can pass on to future students, and the impact this internship has had on my outlook on my future professional endeavours.  

My fascination with sports, particularly the Olympics, traces back to my childhood. I would sit in front of the TV watching events tirelessly: trying hard to memorize athlete statistics, predict scoring, and envision myself competing and standing on the podium. When the Olympics were hosted in Canada in 2010, I begged my dad to drive me to one of the torch relay checkpoints in my hometown of Medicine Hat, Alberta, and I can still vividly remember the thrill of witnessing such a special event. I also had the chance to hold one of the torches used at the London 2012 Olympics!   

The first photo was me (age 9) at the torch relay ceremony for the 2010 Olympics, and the second was me (age 12) with a London 2012 torch.

As I grew up, I found a passion in tennis. I delved into the intricate details of tennis swings and shots, constantly seeking ways to enhance my game strategy, experimenting with different exercises and equipment in the gym to replicate match movements, and keeping up to date with the latest technological advancements in the sport.

I knew I wanted to work in this world: developing new equipment for athletes, using scientific principles to enhance human performance in sports, and learning all I could about how our bodies move, adapt, and heal from injuries. When I came across the “Becoming a Sports Engineer” blog post by Dave James, I knew this was exactly the career I wanted to work towards, and I could not have been luckier to get my first taste of this profession in my undergraduate degree with an internship with the world-leading Sports Engineering Research Group based in Sheffield, UK!  

These past 9 months have been filled with many incredible experiences and impactful projects. I was very lucky to have been allowed to explore my interests within the field of sports engineering and gain valuable knowledge and a skill base that I can take with me as I progress in my academic studies and future career. 

Project Highlights:

This was a shot from the high-speed video footage from reliability study.

On top of these major projects, I had the chance to participate in ongoing initiatives at the AWRC. This included working with 3D motion capture technologies, using anthropometric test dummies, and many more! All these projects exposed me to the many challenges currently being tackled within the field and the many problems that have yet to be solved.

Work-Related Travels:

Moreover, my internship allowed me to embark on various work-related travels, participating in off-site testing and A4SEE events. These included the Innovation Marketplace in Vienna, Austria, the Industry Collaborative Experience (ICE3) in Chemnitz, Germany, and the Special Topics in Sports Engineering Summer School in Delft, Netherlands. You can read about the ICE3 course here, and my experience completing the Special Topics in Sports Engineering course here.

The first picture is the group from the ICE3 experience at the Karl Marx statue in Chemnitz, and the second is the group from the Special Topics course in Delft.

Community Engagement:

Community engagement was another significant factor in my internship. I actively contributed to school events and presentations like “This Girl Can,” where I had the opportunity to engage kids in games and physical activities to explain how we can measure human movement through heart rate monitors, motion detection, and speed gates. These events were very special to me: the students were always excited to learn and participate and I enjoyed sharing my passion for the discipline with the next generation!

This was taken at the “This Girl Can” event, where I am showing students how heart rate monitors work.

Presenting at ADM 2023:

My internship ended with a trip to Italy, where I had the honour of representing SERG by presenting the reliability study to assess ice-hockey helmets against concussive impacts at the ADM 2023 conference in Florence. I would have never imagined that this internship would have resulted in getting a peer-reviewed paper published in the proceedings of this conference and that I would be able to share this study with the wider scientific community. A blog post about my experience in Florence will be posted soon, and check back in early 2024 for the link to the conference proceedings!

This was taken after my presentation at the ADM 2023 conference.

Aside from work, I was also able to explore many parts of the UK and wider Europe, with 20 cities in the UK, and 8 countries visited. I also had the honour of being invited to Canada House in London to meet the High Commissioner of Canada, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, in recognition of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship I received as part of this internship.  

Main Takeaways:

Being able to work on real-world problems within sports engineering enforced my passion for this field of work. I’ve gained an understanding of the problems faced by athletes, coaching staff, sports equipment brands, and governing bodies. This experience has opened my eyes to all the many possibilities for research within this field. I learned about and was able to contribute to the inspiring projects that are currently being tackled by the Sports Engineering Research Group while witnessing their impact on the many communities involved in sports. I am grateful to have been among engineers who are not only very passionate about their profession, but generously involved me in their projects, explained the many intricacies of their work, and offered their guidance.

My Advice:

My advice to future students interested in sports engineering: seek as many opportunities as you can to explore your interests. I would have never found my passion for research in head impacts and injuries had I not been open to learning more about it. Reach out to future mentors and find what excites you within the field. Try to find problems within the discipline that have yet to be tackled and experiment with possible solutions while staying current with ongoing research and developments (this website is a great place to start ;))

Closing Thoughts:

My internship in Sheffield came to an end this month and although it was very hard to say goodbye, I leave with a drive to keep improving as an engineer and to make an impact within the sports engineering field through more internships and with my future career. I want to continue along this path of learning more about the amazing physical feats of the human body, discovering more about how scientific principles and research play a role in improving human performance, and developing ways to reduce injuries, advance a sport, and make physical activity accessible to everyone. As I reflect on my earlier selves—the one captivated by the Olympics and the one passionate about tennis—I know they too would be thrilled, as I am, to be on this exhilarating path towards becoming a sports engineer.

To keep up with Loni career please follow her on Linkedin, and to enquire about intern opportunities at SERG get in contact with any of our members of staff.