Winners of The Independent-Bosch Technology Horizons Award announced
Published: 10 August, 2009
This year's young winners of The Independent-Bosch Technology Horizons Award were announced at the Royal Academy of Engineering.The event was attended by students aged 14-24, their teachers and well-known personalities from the world of engineering and technology such as Johnny Ball and Kate Bellingham.
The competition, which has attracted a record number of entries, challenges young people aged between 14 and 24 to write a short essay in answer to the question, 'How can technology and engineering provide innovative solutions to today"s global challenges?’
As well as receiving their prizes, one of the highlights of the event for the students, and their teachers who accompanied them, was a presentation from Andy Green, pilot for the Bloodhound project, led by Richard Noble, which aims to inspire engineers through building a car capable of travelling at 1000mph. The Bloodhound SSC (Super Sonic Car) project and Bosch’s essay competition share the same ambition in that they hope to inspire future generations to take up careers in science, technology and engineering by promoting these subjects in easy accessible and exciting ways.
Achieving the top prize of £700 in the 14-18 year category was Leon Zhang (15) of Urmston Grammar School Manchester. He commented: "I wanted to highlight the fact that as well as an energy crisis, there is also a water crisis which doesn’t get nearly enough attention but which through technology we can solve."
Winning the £1000 top prize in the 19-24 age group was Gavin Harper, currently studying for an MSc at the University of Cardiff. Gavin, who has authored a number of books including Solar Energy Projects for the Evil Genius, will have his winning essay about the mass production of energy saving technology published in The Independent newspaper.
Commenting on winning the award Harper said: "I am really passionate about technology communications, particularly in relation to renewable or sustainable technology. The recognition of having won the award is fantastic as I will be able to get my viewpoint out there much more effectively now."
Speaking about the competition, Peter Fouquet, President of Bosch in the UK said: "This competition gets young people thinking about engineering and technology and inspires them. The opportunity to hear, first hand, what an incredible person like Andy Green has to say can only give our prize winners further motivation to carry on the journey that they have started." Also present at the event, which is also sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering, were members of the judging panel including Gordon Masterton, director of Jacobs Babtie; Dr Mark Miodownik, head of Material Sciences at King’s College London and Emily Cummins, prize winning ethical inventor. The question for the 2010 competition will be announced shortly and more information can be found at: www.independent.co.uk/technologyhorizons
