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Engineer's ideas can change the world
This years IET awards took place on 13th of November bang slap in the middle of Enterprise Week. With several hundred people from the world of engineering, ranging from students to Chief Executives of large organisations, all assembled in one room, the Make Your Mark in manufacturing & engineering team couldn't miss the oppurtunity to encorage some networking and harvest some great ideas. We set all attendees the challenge round how engineers can combat climate change and reduce the environemental impact of both industry and individuals. Some of the resulting ideas can be downloaded here it's amazing what you can come up with over tea and cakes!
Suit you sir?
During Enterprise Week, Richard Edward launched a competition Suit you sir? for schools in South East London. Richard Edward is an award winning but small print company in Thamesmead and are also the UK's only manufacturer of playing cards. The competition for 14 to 19 year olds, working either individually or in small teams to create a new suit design - the club, spade, diamond and heart symbols, the numbers and the court cards, will conclude in March 2008. The prize will be the winning design being taken into production and the winners being involved in the process.
Thales School Challenge
As part of Enterprise Week 2007 Thales UK’s aerospace business launched the 'Thales School Challenge'. The first challenge was held at Raynes Park High School on Tuesday 27 November 2007 and involved 50 thirteen and fourteen years old boys and girls.
The students were asked to research, design, build and test a prototype of a new kind of Unmanned Flying Stealth Vehicle, capable of flying and landing safely. The aircraft, entirely from recyclable products, needed to be robust, reusable and demonstrate new and useful features. As well as building a prototype, the students prepared a broadcast / radio advert and a presentation to demonstrate the benefits of their project. They approached this with great enthusiasm and, with the support of a team of recent graduates from Thales UK’s aerospace business, they managed to produce some really innovative designs.
Richard Deakin, Managing Director of Thales UK’s aerospace business in the UK, says: “The Thales Schools Challenge is aimed at inspiring and encouraging children to create and test their imagination and creative skills. We are keen to promote engineering as a career and we hope one day to see some of these children enter our industry, bringing their inventiveness and enthusiasm.”