Northern Rail Engineering Challenge Final
Jul 30, 2010
Two creative young engineers from Hillsborough College in Sheffield have shown their mettle after beating six other teams from schools and colleges in Yorkshire to scoop the top overall prize in the ‘Northern Rail Engineering Challenge' for their design of a 21st century train carriage.
The talented girls - Shelby Cound and Abbi Fitter, both aged 17 - took part in a nerve-wracking presentation at Sheffield Hallam University on 13 July. They came out on top after winning praise from a panel of judges - which included top Northern Engineer Stuart Draper - for their "all-round excellence, design flair, commercial awareness and superb understanding of what customers are looking for".
Other successful teams from the region include Swinton Community School in Rotherham who were runners up. Also from Rotherham, was Dinnington Comprehensive School who were awarded the Best Customer Idea prize. Two Sheffield schools picked up awards for their hard work with Chaucer School in Sheffield winning the Best Research prize and Yewlands Technology College receiving Best Creative Design.
Northern Rail and the Young People's Enterprise Forum (YPEF) challenged youngsters from across the region to show off their engineering skills by designing and building a detailed scale model of a ‘next generation' carriage, using innovative customer service ideas and up-to-the-minute engineering standards.
The team from Hillsborough College have won a priceless experience and are now set to become Northern's ‘Junior Engineering Apprentices' for a day. They will have the chance to meet top engineers, discuss their pioneering ideas and learn more about the engineering business within Britain's biggest train operator. They have also won themselves a three month unlimited rail pass for all Northern trains.
Shelby Cound, said: "We both had very different ideas but we put them together and the project turned out really well. We actually talked to customers about what they wanted on trains and as a result we've included vending machines and separate toilets for men and women but we also used our creative skills and have used a colourful art-deco design."
Sarah Kriel, teacher at Hillsborough College, said: "The girls have been outstanding and I'm so proud of them - they've even been coming in during the holidays to make sure the project was finished. It's very refreshing that we've had two girls involved and I think this has had an effect on their design as they considered both the functionality and the aesthetics of the train carriage."
The students were awarded after being judged on their creative skills, adherence to technical criteria and ecological awareness.
Stuart Draper, Engineering Director at Northern and one of the judges, said: "We were blown away by the students' designs that showed engineering skills beyond their years.
"Engineering offers a career where young people not only get to use their creativity, but can also shape the future and make a difference to the way that we live our lives.
"We look forward to working with the winning students, hearing about their ideas in more detail and helping them develop into the experts of tomorrow. If all prospective engineers are like these students, then I'm looking forward to an exciting future for the engineering industry in Yorkshire."
The engineering industry in Yorkshire and the Humber has a significant shortfall of workers aged 16-24, with only 10% of the workforce falling into this age range, as reported by the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA). An ageing workforce, in addition to a lack of young people entering engineering, has contributed to a skills gap in the region.
Suzy Alderson, Executive Director of YPEF Services Ltd said: "Congratulations to the students who've shown just how creative and technically-able young people in Yorkshire are.
"Employers such as Northern play a vital role in inspiring young people to consider a career in engineering. If we are to close the regional skills gap, we need to encourage more businesses to get involved in shaping the future workforce."
The initiative is funded by Northern and Yorkshire Forward, supported by YPEF as part of the £2.64m Embedding Enterprise in Education programme and delivered by Rotherham MBC.
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Notes to Editors:
Engineering Skills Balance Sheet
For more information regarding engineering skills in the Yorkshire and Humber region, please visit the SEMTA website at:
http://www.semta.org.uk/public_bodies/research/engineering_balance_sheets.aspx
The Young People's Enterprise Forum (YPEF)
The Young People's Enterprise Forum (YPEF) is a regionally-based group of private and public organisations with a mission to build a culture which values, promotes and nurtures enterprise among young people in an inclusive manner.
Collectively, YPEF has developed the campaign ‘Enterprising Yorkshire - Inspiring Young Minds.' Working together the remit incorporates enterprise education from primary to university, the development of key skills, business and community engagement and the transition into self-employment and business start-ups.
For more information contact:
Media Relations
Northern Rail
t:01904 568652 /670
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