IET: Competition launched to find Engineer of the Year 2013

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has launched the new IET Product Innovation Challenge in order to find the next Engineer of the Year.

The competition, open to 11-14 year olds, challenges entrants to identify a problem or opportunity relating to communication, and then use their engineering skills to develop a solution.

For example, is there a way communication between doctors and patients can be improved? Would climbers and hikers benefit from an electronic tagging system? Can a device be created to track lost pets?

Not only will the overall winner of the competition be crowned Engineer of the Year, they will also win an iPad for themselves and £500 for their school to spend on Science, Engineering, Technology or Maths (STEM) activities.

Holly Margerison, Education Manager of Faraday projects at the IET, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for aspiring engineers to get thinking and devise a product or invention that could really improve communications of the future.”

The IET Product Challenge is just one of many educational initiatives run by the IET to encourage young people into careers in STEM.

The start of the IET Product Innovation Challenge coincides with the launch of the brand new IET Faraday website. The revamped site offers a wealth of teaching resources, including award-winning short films, hand-outs and classroom presentations. These resources help teachers to demonstrate examples of real life engineering.

Ends

Notes to editors:
For more information, visit: http://faraday.theiet.org/
Interview opportunities are available with IET spokespersons.
The IET is Europe’s largest professional body of engineers with over 150,000 members in 127 countries.
For more information, visit www.theiet.org.
Follow the IET on Twitter.

Katie Stanton
Communications Executive
The Institution of Engineering and Technology

www.theiet.org

T: +44 (0)1438 765608
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