Young scientists in competition to save planet earth
22 Jul 2009
Four teams of budding scientists, engineers and business students competed at the British Geological Survey in Nottingham this month in a new World Skills UK environmental science competition.
Following three intense days of competition, a team from Newcastle College www.ncl-coll.ac.uk scooped the gold medals and first prize of a VIP pass to QinetiQ’s Science Week, to be held in Farnborough in September. The winning team of Thomas McEwen, Craig Dobson, Byron Johnson and James Buchanan presented an energy plan for a mythical island based on progressively phasing in a tidal barrage and biomass generation and encouraging a programme of household energy efficiency measures. In their comprehensive solution, the barrage not only provided a renewable and sustainable source of electricity but also created 30,000 jobs, and agricultural land was given over to forestry.
In addition, all teams constructed a solar oven from recycled cardboard. Despite the generally cloudy weather, one team managed to record a temperature of 165oC during a brief sunny spell.
The competition was judged by a panel comprising: James Strawbridge (BBC’s “It’s not easy being green”); Mike Stephenson (BGS, Head of Science and Energy); and John Rees NERC’s theme leader for natural hazards.
The prize was presented by Dr Tom Moat of Natural England; a key sponsor of the event.
Jacqui Henderson, of TTF Trust, the competition’s other main sponsor said: ‘TTF Trust is delighted that four teams have taken part in this exciting new competition. Having young people who aspire to have high level skills and understanding in science related industries is a high priority for the UK and this new competition is a key initiative in help to attract more young people into pursuing a career in this crucially important sector. I would like to offer our appreciation to all of the organisations involved in making this possible and to congratulate Thomas, Craig, Byron and James for winning’.
Prospect representative Dick Crofts, a geologist at BGS, played the key role in devising and running the competition. “It was brilliant to work with the students,” he said. “They were studying a mixture of subjects so they could get an idea of what it is like to work in a multi-disciplinary team.
This competition was developed by World Skills UK working with BGS, Prospect trade union, a unique combination of Sector Skills Councils (Cogent, Semta, EU Skills and Lantra), unionlearn, STEMNET and experts at the Environment Agency. Natural England, TTF Trust and Semta have sponsored the competition. QinetiQ provided the prize for the winning team.
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