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Young Engineer for Britain Case Study | |
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 Regions 2009: | |
 Key Stage 3, 4 & 5 | |
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 | Selected winners will be invited to take part in an international competition based in the USA. |
 | Students work individually or in teams of up to four |
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 | Free to enter |
 | 01428 727 265 |
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Pioneering Young Engineers and inventors are challenged to come up with a creative and commercially viable device or system that meets an everyday need they have identified. Possible areas of study include: healthcare, the environment, travel and transport or sport and leisure. Finalists from 2008 included projects ranging from hypothermic monitors to a martial arts dummy to an automated irrigation system to a machine to remove rocks from a garden.
Entries can come from individuals or teams of up to four young people who initially carry out market research and then develop their ideas through designing, making and testing. A design portfolio is kept throughout the process and competitors present their project when it’s near completion using either video or PowerPoint. Students are also encouraged to consider protecting their projects and ideas with intellectual property rights and patenting.
Projects are demonstrated and displayed at regional events in a short presentation followed by a short question and answer session from judges, who are experienced engineers. Entries in two age categories are assessed according to: Design, Innovation & Presentation, Product Development & Marketability, Integration & Application of Electronics and Manufacture and Finish. As well as the main four award categories, there are also a variety of special awards of merit depending on the quality of entries.
The competition may be directly linked to the curriculum and is used by many schools as a vehicle to celebration and promote student achievement in either their GCSE topics or A-level coursework (or equivalent). Conversely, students may also enter projects that have no relevance to school activity but are completed in home time.
At the regional finals, advice is available on how participants might improve their projects and possibly bring them to the manufacturing stage.
Regional winners will receive prizes and have the opportunity to compete in the national finals at the Celebration of Engineering event where larger prizes and the title of Young Engineer for Britain can be won. Amongst other prizes are: the opportunity to represent Britain in the 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair in America, to take part in various engineering experiences and to become an ambassador for Young Engineers at events throughout the UK.
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