Author: Berge Schembri -
Frank Morton is an annual sporting competition between Chemical Engineering departments across the United Kingdom and Ireland. This year was like no other due to the impact of the coronavirus - but that didn’t stop our Bath team giving it our all and bringing home the first place trophy!
The first Frank Morton event dates back to 1961 - when yes you guessed it, Frank Morton himself, a professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), organised a football match between the Chemical Engineering departments at UMIST and the University of Birmingham. Since then, the event has continued to grow in both the number of activities and the number of participating universities, with 24 universities attending this years’ event hosted by the University of Bradford.
Normally, the event follows a format of students choosing their preferred sport and facing other Chemical Engineering departments in a battle to win the most points. As a result of the pandemic, all non-professional sporting events had been cancelled, therefore the Frank Morton team created a challenge-based format instead. Students were able to upload videos of themselves attempting challenges in different categories, ranging from the number of push ups you can do, to the number of toilet paper keepie uppies. It was the first opportunity for students to enter multiple sports, allowing them to participate from the comfort of their own homes!
On top of this, the Frank Morton team went beyond the usual expectations for the event, making the most of the online setting by hosting a number of e-sports events including a FIFA 21 tournament. Although most of the e-sports were casual options, it introduced a level of inclusivity to the event for those who may be less interested in traditional sports, whilst still maintaining a competitive environment. The team also organised a series of talks, a careers fair, an inter-university quiz and a few other social activities such as murder mysteries and escape rooms. Speakers from the event included Yasmin Ali and Manisha Patel, who spoke about their inspiring experiences and background in the energy industry. The careers’ fair allowed students to actively find out more about the pharmacy industry through asking questions to the host of the fair, GSK. The inter-university 50 question quiz saw a close fight between UCL and the University of Strathclyde, with the former taking the win at the last minute. Finally, the socials replaced the well-loved bar crawls that normally allow students to get a taste of what life is like at other universities.
Overall, the University of Bradford produced a truly wonderful day that I feel proud to have been a part of, and even prouder to have won as a team. I would like to give a special thanks to Carmelo and Marianne along with the rest of the Chemical Engineering Department, and the whole CESA team for helping with the organisation and smooth running of the event.
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