Queen’s University Belfast’s “MariTeam” Wins 2025 Marine Autonomy Challenge Finals
A team of exceptional students from the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EEECS), proudly named “MariTeam”, has claimed first place at the prestigious Marine Autonomy Challenge (MAChallenge) Finals.
The finals, held over the weekend of 28–29 June 2025, brought together some of the UK’s brightest engineering student minds from five different universities across the UK. MariTeam, comprising EEECS students from Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science, demonstrated outstanding innovation, resilience, and teamwork to secure the top prize.
“It was an incredible weekend at Timsbury Lake near Southampton, showcasing the dedication, patience, resilience, and teamwork of our outstanding students,” said the team’s academic mentor, Dr Wasif Naeem. “Their well-deserved victory marks the culmination of a nearly 8-month-long competition, featuring three exceptional finalist teams from Queen’s University Belfast, University of Plymouth and Heriott Watt University.” Other teams in the competition included University College London and Southampton Solent University.
🏆 Meet the Winning Queen’s MariTeam:
- Caleb Hair – Software Engineering
- Ewan McGrath (Team Leader) – Computer Engineering, on placement
- Htoo Myat Naing – Software Engineering
- Jamie Smith – Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Senan Kellegher – Computer Science
The MAChallenge is a biennial competition that tasks university teams with developing autonomous marine systems using a 2-metre catamaran and an industry-standard simulator supplied by Dynautics. This year’s challenge focused on real-world applications of autonomy, including Waypoint Navigation, Obstacle Avoidance, Autonomous Berthing, Pollution Search & Mapping and Surface Target Detection using AI-powered Camera Processing.
Queen’s University’s win not only brings home a £1,500 cash prize, but also cements its place as a leader in marine innovation and research. The event also provided students with invaluable exposure to the UK’s Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS) industry, opening doors to future careers in this rapidly growing field.
Congratulations to MariTeam and the EEECS School for this inspiring achievement!
Media
For more on the Marine Autonomy Challenge, visit the official event page.