Facebook, Gatwick Airport and Network Rail have partnered in a UK-wide competition to find the engineers of the future, with the 2019 asking pupils ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’.
The competition,known as the Leaders Award and ran by Primary Engineer, is a free, annual event that asks students from primary and secondary schools to interview engineering professionals, identify a problem and design a solution, inspiring them to discover the engineer they could be.
John Halsall, regional managing director for Network Rail’s Southern Region, said: “I’m an engineer and I love my job, it’s the most amazing career for girls and boys.
“One of the things I love most is seeing the great ideas kids come up with when you open their minds to possibilities and pose them a real life problem to solve. This competition is a little taster of how much fun engineering can be, and I for one can’t wait to see the results.”
Dr Susan Scurlock, MBE, founder of Primary Engineer, said: “This exhibition at one of the most important travel hubs in the UK is testament to the commitment of commercial organisations, schools and universities, who are all doing their bit to help pupils tap into their inner engineer.
“Each year I am astounded by the designs by pupils, some as young as 3, as they identify problems to solve which are important to them and in turn inspire engineers to build their solutions. We started by asking engineers to inspire children and have found that children inspire engineers. Perfect!”
The competition opens in September 2019, at the beginning of the academic year. The closing date for entries is 25 March 2020. You can find more information on how to take part here.
