The Royal Navy has launched a national competition, aimed at school children in Years 1 – 13 by asking them to come up with an innovative design for a ship capable of rescuing up to 1,000 people.
As one of the flagship initiatives in support of the Year of Engineering, the ship design competition has been launched so that schools can inspire their students to take a closer look at how rewarding a career in engineering can be through a challenge that deliberately encourages creativity and allows students to come up with designs which haven’t been influenced by pre-conceptions.
The Royal Navy is often involved in delivering humanitarian assistance, including rescuing large numbers of people from the sea so as part of the Year of Engineering 2018, the Royal Navy have teamed up with UK Naval Engineering Science & Technology (UKNEST) to look for young aspiring Naval Engineers who can develop an innovative way of achieving such rescues.
In launching the competition, Captain Matt Bolton Royal Navy said, “The sea can be a very hostile environment so the ability to rescue large numbers of people and transport them to safety is a huge challenge. In launching this competition, both the Royal Navy and UKNEST are keen to galvanise school children up and down the country into producing a creative and innovative design whilst applying their understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to solve this real-world problem”.
The competition will run throughout the year and will end on 1 December 2018 where the entries will be judged by a team of industry professionals allowing for the varying levels of detail expected across the age ranges.
Upon entry to the competition, students will be given one month to complete the challenge and will be required to submit an A3 poster with their annotated design and description.
There will be three age categories for children to enter ranging from Years 1 – 6, 7 – 11 and 11 – 12. The best three designs from each age category will be eligible to win prizes win prizes and the winning entrants will also be invited to a prize giving event hosted by the Royal Navy.
HM Government Envoy for the Year of Engineering, Stephen Metcalfe MP, said, “Engineering careers are creative, innovative and a chance to make a real difference – but not enough young people realise the opportunities on offer, and the profession faces a major lack of diversity in its workforce.
"The Year of Engineering is a chance to show young people from all backgrounds how they could make a real difference as an engineer, whether that’s through developing pioneering cancer treatment, coming up with ways to protect our environment or helping deliver humanitarian aid in our armed forces.”
Stephen added, “I’m delighted that the Royal Navy and UK Nest are supporting the campaign with this fantastic competition, which I’m sure will inspire many young problem-solvers and inventors to discover what they could achieve by getting into engineering."
The Year of Engineering 2018 is a national Government-backed campaign which seeks to raise the profile of engineering in society by highlighting the way engineers are involved across our everyday lives; encouraging young people to take a closer look.
As partners of the wider national campaign, the Royal Navy and UKNEST are looking to demonstrate that its engineers are integral to every aspect of naval business and form the ‘beating heart’ of operational capability, ensuring that every unit is prepared and maintained for and sustained on worldwide operations.
The Chairman of UKNEST, Tony Graham said, “This competition is an excellent opportunity for students to take a closer look at engineering by getting involved in solving real problems. At UKNEST we are pleased to be able to continue our partnership with the Royal Navy to run an engineering design competition for school students part of our involvement in the Government’s wider national Year of Engineering 2018”.
