The winners of the UK Young Engineer and Young Scientists of the Year have been announced in the finals of the UK’s prestigious National Science & Engineering Competition. The winners of UK Young Engineer of the Year and UK Young Scientists of the Year will each win £2,000, a trophy and an experience prize.
Rebecca Simpson, aged 19, from Dame Alice Owen’s School in Potters Bar has been crowned UK Young Engineer of the Year. Her project involved building a six-foot arcade machine to help GCSE students revise their STEM subjects. It included two educational games, a joy-stick and a remote and can also identify six different coin values.
Rebecca said: “I’m so happy I’ve won! I’m going to use the money to develop this project further. I wanted to show other students what’s possible with electronics and programming.”
Twins Aneeta and Ameeta Kumar, aged 18, from The Abbey School in Reading, were announced as the UK Young Scientists of the Year. Their project studied the possibility of developing an early diagnostic cancer tool – which could ultimately reduce deaths caused by late diagnosis.
The girls said: “We’re so excited to have won, and it’s definitely a bit of a shock. It’s a really big role to fill, and an important one, but we’re very happy to be doing it. Hopefully it will encourage other people, especially girls, to get involved and get into science. We’re only 18 and you never think of 18-year-olds doing cancer research!”
The results were announced at The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair, the UK’s largest celebration of science and engineering for young people, at The NEC, Birmingham. At the Fair, the shortlisted entries were showcased to over 80,000 visitors and came face-to-face with top celebrity judges in a Dragons’ Den style pitch process.
The National Science + Engineering Competition is an annual event open to pupils aged between 11-18, and gives participants the chance to compete for top prizes and international experiences worth over £50,000.
www.damealiceowens.herts.sch.uk
