UK’s future engineers shine in Design & Make Challenge 2024

Run by the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN), the competition is designed to get more young people involved in manufacturing.

Southam College, Barclay Academy and Lawrence Sheriff High School took the main prizes, winning the Efficiency, Innovation and Manufacturing Awards respectively for the way they tackled the challenge of using a box of simple materials to build a device that could securely lift a 23kg metal block with nothing more than a pulley system.

The Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students split up into teams of four to design, test and build their solution, working closely with apprentices from the eight MAN companies and graduate engineers from WMG’s SME Group, who were also the hosts for the day at the University of Warwick’s Innovation District.

“What a fantastic way to celebrate the fifth year of the Design & Make Challenge, with the biggest turnout of students we’ve ever had – that really shows the appetite to learn more about a possible career in industry,” commented Austin Owens, Managing Director at Grove Design and Co-Chair of the Manufacturing Assembly Network.

“The competition is all about inspiring young people to get hands-on with design and engineering skills, working together to come up with a solution that then competes with other schools in terms of efficiency, innovation and design for manufacture.”

He continued: “All of the MAN companies were so impressed with the quality of thinking and the sheer commitment from pupils to see their ideas through – even though it may have taken several iterations to get there. That’s what our sector is all about and I’m sure we’ve seen tens of potential engineers in the room during this competition.

“We’d love to make it even bigger and are urging other manufacturers, funders and schools to come forward and get involved. Together, we can start to bridge the skills gap [that] industry continues to battle against.”

Southam College, Barclay Academy and Lawrence Sheriff High School each received a 3D printer as part of their prize package, which was sponsored by 3DPrint UK. These were taken back to each school and will be used to develop additive manufacturing and design skills.

There was a fourth prize given out to recognise the different careers in engineering, with Thomas Telford UTC beating off the competition to win the ‘Communications’ Award.

This saw the Shropshire school praised for the way it told the best story of the day through the use of social media, with a single post racking up more than 347 likes and over 2000 views in just a few hours.

Dr Mark Swift, Director of SME Engagement at WMG, University of Warwick, whose team supported the students on the day, concluded: “Design & Make connects young people with dynamic manufacturers whilst they are still at school and making future career decisions - this is critical for addressing the UK's engineering skills gap and fostering a culture of innovation. 

“Early exposure and practical experience help to inspire the next generation of engineers, equipping them with the necessary skills to ultimately develop new technology and grow our world-leading manufacturing sector."