The Young Engineer for Britain Competition could be Your Route to Success

It is a widely held belief that there’s a creative genius bursting to get out of all of us. This may well be true, but why is it that only a relative few manage to ignite that magic spark? The answer is that probably only the few are adventurous and determined enough actually to make their ideas happen. That doesn’t have to be the case.

For those with the courage and conviction to devise and implement change, the rewards can be huge. Just look at the likes of Richard Branson and Bill Gates, who have made fortunes because they had the necessary entrepreneurial spirit to change the way we operate our daily lives! The world thrives on change and the world depends on change to overcome life’s problems, whether they are as a result of the inherited legacy of past mistakes or, the result of previously unrecognised social and humanitarian needs.

Young Engineer for Britain challenges you to bring your ideas out into the open, you can enter your design and technology exam project or, create a special project to solve a problem close to your heart – maybe you have devised a new means of helping your favourite sport or hobby, or a means of protecting the environment, or of helping an aged or disabled relative, or found a better way to do something. Yours might just be a world beater waiting to be unleashed and unless you enter, you will never know.

The competition takes you through all the stages you need to cover if you want to turn your idea into a commercial reality. You need to research the market – find out if people really need what it is you are offering, see what alternative solutions exist already and make yours better, test it out on end users and take note of their comments. You need to cost out your project, taking account of the bill of materials, manufacturing and marketing costs and think about how you plan to sell it.

All these factors are considered in the judging process with great prizes for each of the following criteria at both regional and national final levels: best design and innovation; best product development and marketability; best engineering craftsmanship and finish; best integration and application of electronics. Overall winners in each region of the country qualify for the national final along with up to another ten contestants, who the judges consider to be also outstanding.

The potential rewards for all that are well worth the effort because not only might you be crowned 2008 Young Engineer for Britain, but there is a whole host of great prizes, the opportunity to get your idea noticed and developed commercially, the taking part in a glittering national event and, as a winner even the chance to win international acclaim by going to America to represent your country in the 2009 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

PICTURE CAPTIONS

TV presenter Richard Hammond was a star attraction in 2005 when he visited the Annual Celebration of Engineering. He is pictured here presenting the Young Engineer for Britain award to Tanya Budd, who went on to win a major prize at the International Science and Engineering Fair and who’s man overboard rescue device ‘Hypo-Hoist’ is now on the market and achieving significant sales success.

Susie Short, is a previous winner of The Duke of York’s Award for creative electronics, one of the major supporting prizes in the Young Engineer for Britain competition. "The experience has been amazing" she said. "It’s really opened up exciting possibilities for my future."