IET: Young engineers compete for £1000 prize in international competition

A Lancashire student is set to go head-to-head with international competitors at a prestigious engineering presentation competition.

Present Around the World (PATW) is the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) competition for 18 to 26 year olds to demonstrate their presentation and public speaking skills.

Lili Tao, 23, is currently studying for her PhD in Computer Vision at the School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire. She is required to present for 10 minutes on a subject related to engineering or technology and take part in a Q&A for a further five minutes. There is a cash prize of £1000 up for grabs.

She entered PATW at a local level earlier this year and has fought off competitors in area and regional tournaments to reach the grand final in London on November 22.

Lili said: “I am happy and excited to be selected for the International Final. I entered the competition because I think it is a good opportunity to present my interesting research work and let people know that engineering is not just boring mathematics and programming, it can also be fun. 

“Good presentation skills are extremely essential to success. In today's corporate world, success is strongly related to the ability to influence others and therefore we should also be able to present well.”

Four other finalists from Egypt, Sri Lanka, Canada and New Zealand also rose through their regional heats in order to secure a place at the November event. All finalists will present at the IET’s Ambition and Achievement Awards, where the audience will vote for the winner.

John Cowburn, Chair of the IET Lancashire and Cumbria Local Network said: “We were really impressed with Lili’s presentation and it is no surprise that she reached the final. She was a confident and engaging presenter and I wish her the best of luck – All of us in Lancashire will be cheering for her!”

Ends

Notes to editors:

The IET is Europe’s largest professional body of engineers with over 150,000 members in 127 countries.
The IET is a professional home for life for its members and supports them throughout their careers.
The IET is a source of essential engineering intelligence.
For more information, visit www.theiet.org.
Follow the IET on Twitter.

Media enquiries to:

Katie Stanton, Communications Executive
T: +44 (0)1438 765608
M: +44 (0)7738 713867
E: kstanton@theiet.org