Editor's comment: August 2016

And that’s because contestants in this particular competition are students and could well be the engineers and scientists of tomorrow. Essentially, the competition is divided into two age groups: 14-16 and 17-19 with the idea being that students submit their Design and Technology masterpieces from school for scrutinisation by a seasoned panel of judges. The finals this year took place at Mazak’s European Manufacturing Headquarters in Worcester where 12 finalists – six in each age group – engaged in technological combat, each hoping to emerge triumphant.

Please take the time to read my article on pages 12-13 in the August issue (or online here) because to be part of the event was truly inspiring. When I was 14 years old (and probably now for that matter) I would have positively withered under these conditions but not these youngsters. Students not only had to present their works of art to the judges; they also had to answer some pretty gruelling questions about design, manufacturing and marketing. Considering the combined manufacturing experience of the six judges was probably about 200 years, all 12 students coped admirably with everything that was thrown at them. Their knowledge and sheer confidence was fantastic.

The Challenge has been running for more than a decade now and a former notable former winner was Roxanne Pollard who won the competition in 2010. Roxanne works for Renishaw and has now completed her apprenticeship. She jointly received the award for the Best Final (fourth) Year Apprentice in 2014 and is currently studying towards an honours degree in engineering. She also won the Female Apprentice of the Year Award at the Gloucestershire Women in Business Awards. Marvellous.

The great thing is that many of the students I spoke to wanted to pursue a technical career once they’d finished school. I left Mazak thinking if this was a snapshot of the engineers of tomorrow then we’re all in good hands but we all know there’s much work to do. The sad fact is that for many schools, design, technology and engineering aren’t even on the curriculum. That simply has to change.

So well done to all that took part. Given the right platform and exposure, you really could inspire a generation! Check out our video interview with the winners: www.pesmedia.com/tdi

Dave Tudor Editor