Secondary students from the Isle of Wight recently took part in an IET Faraday Challenge Day (FCD) hosted by Christ the King College.
Students became real-life engineers for a day by researching, designing and building solutions to real engineering problems as part of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Faraday Challenge Day.
A total of 187 IET Faraday Challenge Days are taking place across the UK during the 2022-23 season. All Island schools were invited to take part and six lucky teams competed at the event to find the best solution to an engineering-related challenge.
This year’s challenge is in association with UKRI’s Future Flight Challenge and will be based on future flight technology, but the brief for these young engineers is hidden in secrecy to avoid unfair preparation and research. Teams must race against the clock to solve a real-life engineering problem, putting their engineering and technology knowledge and skills to the test.
Natalie Moat, IET Faraday Education Manager, said:
“Students who take part in the Faraday Challenge Days this year will experience working as an engineer through hands-on and practical engagement with real-life challenges relating to UKRI’s Future Flight Challenge.
“There is a huge demand for new engineers and technicians, and we are confident that this will challenge young people’s perceptions of engineering and inspire the next generation by giving them an insight into the life of a real engineer and show them just how exciting and creative engineering really is.”
The events aim to encourage more young people to study and consider exciting and rewarding careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) by using creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills.
Each team member in the winning group will be awarded a prize and a trophy for their school.
This year CTK students were pipped to the post by a courageous team from the Island Free School. The top 5 teams from across the UK will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the national final in June 2023 to compete for a cash prize of up to £1,000 for their school.
