Launched this week, the National Engineering Competition for Girls asks dynamic secondary school students to engineer solutions to the world’s biggest issues.
With only 9% of professional engineers being women and the proportion of female engineering and technology students falling every year since 2012, the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) is working with leading businesses in the UK to fix the pipeline and address the factors turning girls off engineering and physics at a young age.
Sponsored by Rolls-Royce, EDF Energy and PepsiCo, and supported by Centrica, the National Engineering Competition for Girls seeks to demonstrate that engineering effects everything in the world around you, from aero engines and low-carbon energy to food production and the flavours in your drink.
Open to female secondary school students aged from 11 to 18, the competition asks girls to pit their creativity and ingenuity against worldwide challenges such as the housing shortage, global diseases, food shortages or anything else.
The winner of each age category wins £1000 and an inspiring female engineering mentor, while the runners-up win £100. All finalists are invited to showcase their entries at the Big Bang Fair at Birmingham NEC on 19 March where there is a £200 prize for the best display.
Now in its third year, the aspirations for the National Engineering Competition for Girls is to reach even more schools across the UK this year and get information out to 80% of secondary schools.
Sarah Cowan, Project Officer for NCUB Talent 2030 said:
“Engineering is a great career and the competition will allow the next generation of upcoming innovators to get a taste of an exciting industry which provides creative solutions to make a real difference in people’s lives.”
Supporting the Competition, PepsiCo R&D Director Tim Ingmire commented:
“PepsiCo is delighted to be sponsoring the National Engineering Competition for Girls, an inspiring initiative that will provide young females with more visibility of the STEM careers available to them. Many of the talented, tech-savvy youth do not fully appreciate how transferable their passions are to driving innovation in the food and drink industry. It’s our job to communicate the huge array of exciting roles out there that require a STEM education and skills.”
For more information, please contact the NCUB press office, on 020 7383 8185
If you have any queries, please email contact@talent2030.org and visit the Talent 2030 website for further details.
National Centre for Universities and Business
Share this article
