Hundreds of students from across the UK submitted either their GCSE, A-Level or BTEC Design and Technology Course Work Projects to be judged by a panel of experts drawn from Industry.
The TDI Challenge is split into three categories. There are two age groups; 14-16 and 17-19, with six finalists in each and a third category, a brand new addition to the competition for 2017, for group projects which saw two teams competing in the 17-19 age group.
The competition, which has been running for over a decade, is organised by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) to inspire future engineers in to a career in manufacturing.
MTA education and development co-ordinator Laura Pickering said: “Once again the high standard of entries in this year’s competition continues to surprise and excite the judging panel. I’d like to congratulate all of the finalists on their projects and for being part of a truly inspiring day.”
The winners:
The winner in the 14-16 category was Dan Kimber from Brighton College (below), whose project was a stylish Desk Lamp. He said: “I’m really proud of winning this competition, it was a great experience to be involved in and I really enjoyed seeing all of the other great projects.”
Second place in the 14-16 age group went to Simon Knowles of Sutton Grammar School for Boys and third place went to Jacob Lawson of Caistor Grammar School with his Contemporary Shoe Storage and Display System.
The winner in the 17-19 age category was Halimah Ershad of Forest School in London (below), her project was call BrooDen – which was High End Chick Brooder. Ershad said: “I can’t believe I have won, it has been a great day and I have really enjoyed myself. It was a brilliant experience seeing a modern manufacturing facility like Mazak. This is a great first step for me in to a career in engineering.”
Second place in the 17-19 age group went to Beth Martin of Droitwich Spa High School with her Children’s Light for Birmingham Library and third place went to Sam Taylor-Jones of Ipswich School with his Lifeboat Search and Rescue Drone
The winners in the group category were Jacob Hardy-King and Daniel Timmerman of Team Unite from Oakham School in Leicestershire (left), for their project optimising the cooling process of alternator hubs. Hardy-King said: “We really enjoyed being part of the TDI Challenge and producing our project. The standard of entries was really high so we’re so pleased to have won our category.”
The winners of each category were able to choose from a range of prizes on offer which included iPads, GoPro cameras, Minirig speakers and drones. Each winning project also received a £1000 voucher for the winning school in each category to spend on D&T equipment for the classroom.
