Three societies, one MechEng community.
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Welcome to MESS

The Mechanical Engineering Student Society (MESS) is the Students' Union home for everyone in UCL Mechanical Engineering. It brings together three groups that have been running in the department for over a decade:

  • MES (Mechanical Engineering Society): the undergraduate and master's society, running socials, careers panels, the Mechathon and cultural events
  • MERS (Mechanical Engineering Researchers' Society): the society for PhD students, postdocs and research staff
  • UCL Racing (UCLR): the department's student project teams, including Formula Student, Shell Eco-marathon, Rover, Rocket, UAS and Human-Powered Submarine

Last year in numbers (2025/26)

  • 38 events across the year
  • 100+ participants at our Autodesk-sponsored Mechathon
  • 7 careers, placement and study abroad panels
  • Collaborations with 11+ societies across UCL, King's and Imperial
  • A regular football community of around 50 students
  • 200 students across 6 UCL Racing teams
  • 8 UCL Racing national and international competitions (Poland, USA, UK)

What's planned for 2026/27

Events we have planned include, but are not limited to:

  • Welcome events: first year picnic, sports day and cross-society welcome socials
  • Careers: industry and alumni panels, a startup fair with other UCL engineering societies, and CV and interview support
  • Mechathon: our annual weekend design-and-build competition in MechSpace
  • Socials and sport: F1 screenings with prediction games, go-karting, sports days and regular football
  • Cultural celebrations: Diwali, Iftar and more, often run with other societies
  • Departmental events: the Christmas party and the end of year Kennedy Dinner
  • Research and projects: MERS events for the research community and UCL Racing team activity all year round
  • UCL Racing competitions: Formula Student, National and International Rocketry, European Rover Challenge, Shell Eco-marathon, Human-Powered Submarine and IMechE UAS Challenge
  • Standalone engineering projects: development of a liquid rocket engine for Race2Space 2027

Stay connected

Follow us on Instagram: @uclmechengsoc, @uclracing, @uclmers

Find us on LinkedIn: UCL Racing and UCL Rocket

Join MESS and make the most of your time in MechEng.