A group of budding engineers have taken to the stage once again with Made In The Midlands latest Young Inventors panel.
Hosted by students from Central College Nottingham, the six enthusiastic pupils presented individual projects from their college courses to a panel of Made in the Midlands member manufacturing & engineering MDs.
The projects consisted of a variety of engineering designs and creations that students Lewis Parnell, Callum Bradford, Bailey Parker-shand, Matt, Smith Joe Nawaqahiva and Chris Carhill had put together as part of their engineering design projects; each showing a unique insight into the young engineering minds of today.
Stephen Bilson, an engineering training coordinator from Central College Nottingham said. Its great to see our young students grasp the opportunity to show off their talent to directors of local manufacturing companies, and from a variety of backgrounds. It goes to show that the skills they learnt at college have multiple applications for future jobs.
The presentations were followed by a tour of the college premises and a period of networking and refreshments amongst staff, students and judges.
Made In The Midlands has been running its Young Inventors program for the last 4 years as a way of addressing one of the biggest issues in the manufacturing community, an ageing workforce and lack of interest of young people in the sector. It not only gives the opportunity for local colleges to express what they have to offer, but directly allows manufacturing MDs to assess potential apprentice abilities and network with fellow directors from the same region.
The scheme, through face to face judging and networking, encourages collaboration, investment in young people and most importantly, students to show off their potential to real employers.
QTS Ltd is a wire racking company that has recently re-shored its manufacturing plant to the Nottinghamshire area. Managing Director, Shaun Ingram, was one of the judges on the day. This event has given me a good insight into what local colleges are teaching their students for a job in the manufacturing and engineering industry. It has proven to be a fantastic experience and, as an organisation has encouraged me to work closer with local colleges in the area.
During their presentations, each student was marked on a variety of aspects of design by the judging panel. The results were then totalled to present three finalists, all of which will be put forward for the Young Inventors Award at the Made In The Midlands awards event at the end of October.
Chief Operating Officer of Made In The Midlands, Charles Addison, has been running the Young Inventors event for the past 4 years and has since become a stem ambassador as a way of encouraging more engagement between the younger generation and industry.
He goes on to say, The Young Inventor Award is arguably one of the most important projects we run at Made In The Midlands. Over the last few decades, manufacturing and engineering has suffered and it has deterred subsequent generations not to get involved in a career making things. However, in recent years, as we have seen signs of engineering bouncing back and we are now entering a new age of engineering, full of variety - led by quality and design not cutting prices. To keep this going we need to encourage our students to come back, and to bring their bright minds with them!"
The MIM Awards event will be taking place at the IET Birmingham building on the 22nd October from 9am.