The Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal is a collaboration between The MacRobert Trust and Primary Engineer, with support from The WEIR Group PLC, and the awards highlight the culmination of the Leaders Award competition. This program challenges pupils aged 3–19 to answer the question: “If you were an engineer, what would you do?” Selected ideas are brought to life by ProtoTeams—collaborations between students, engineers, and industry partners—turning school pupils ideas into working prototypes. 

This year, 10 ProtoTeams were honoured with Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medals, recognizing their ingenuity and collaboration. 

Dr Susan Scurlock MBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Primary Engineer, expressed her gratitude during the ceremony: 

“We are so delighted to be able to honour everyone who has been involved in bringing these porotypes to life – the pupils, parents & carers, engineers, teachers, judges, and our dedicated supporters. We extend our deepest gratitude to The MacRobert Trust and WEIR Group for their essential support and spirit of innovation, The University of Strathclyde School of Engineering for providing us with the stunning Barony Hall, and of course a massive thank to Tunnocks for providing us with the Caramel Wafers!” 

Distinguished speakers, including Andrew Everett (CEO, ERA Foundation), Paula Cousins (Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Weir Group PLC), and Ivan McKee MSP (Scottish Government Minister for Finance), also addressed the audience, celebrating the creativity and dedication of the winners. 

Jon Stanton, Chief Executive of The Weir Group and part of this year’s judging panel, praised the initiative: 

“Creating mining technology for a more sustainable future lies at the heart of what we do at Weir. We must think differently and challenge the way things have always been done. That aligns well with Primary Engineer’s initiative to harnesses the imagination and creativity of school children to innovate and invent solutions to everyday challenges. It has been incredible to see first-hand how the ProtoTeams use their engineering skills to bring the best ideas to life. And then to recognise and celebrate the best innovations with the prestigious Primary Engineer MacRobert Medals. Weir has been working with Primary Engineer since 2018 to develop innovation and I’m personally delighted to be involved again. We can’t wait to see how the next generation of talent develops novel solutions for the world’s most pressing economic and sustainability challenges.” 

The event also introduced the first Commendation Medal, awarded via a public vote. The winning prototype, the Solar Powered Heated Blanket, captured imaginations and showcased the real-world potential of young innovators’ ideas. 

The Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal Ceremony continues to inspire the next generation of engineers, celebrating the power of collaboration, creativity, and innovation in solving global challenges. 

You can find a full list of the Bronze, Silver and gold Medallists below: 

Bronze

Self Regulation Bracelet: The University of Sunderland

ProtoTeam: Dave Knapton, Spyros Fakiridis 

Pupils: Zoeya Khan 

School: Bridgewater Primary School 

Smart Tap: Thales – Belfast

ProtoTeam: Sinead Kearney, Lenin Stevenson, Josh McCreedy, Joel Lucas, Lukas Leung, Andrew Smyth 

Pupils: Seyi Akintayo 

School: Aston Clinton 

Walkie Frame: Thales – Templecombe

ProtoTeam: Charlie Weller, Benjamin Gardiner, Archie Whittaker 

Pupils: Erin Feltham 

School: Les Quennevais School 

Tap of Germs: Thales – Cheadle

ProtoTeam: Isabel Chadwick, Fiona Gilmour, Adam Cartwright, Olamide Olorunfemi, Alicia Riviere, Jack Bratt 

Pupils: Madiha Zazai 

School: Westwood High 

Silver

Switch-A-Boot: Manchester Metropolitan University

ProtoTeam: Mark Chester 

Pupils: Noah Chadderton 

School: Altrincham Preparatory School 

Solar Powered Heated Blanket: Thales – Glasgow

ProtoTeam: Shivam Sharma, Olivia Chard, Ruaridh Colombini Allison, Alexander Brodie, Cameron Doull, Douglas Mackay 

Pupils: Rebecca Young 

School: Kelvinside Academy 

Moving Solar Panel: Queens University Belfast

ProtoTeam: Kevin Fitzsimons, Siofra Frost, Jonathan Browning, Robert Best, TJ Cosgrove 

Pupils: Sam Curley 

School: St Patrick’s Primary School 

Sign Right: Thales – Crawley

ProtoTeam: Megan Backhouse, Dylan Patel, Aidan Crockford, Josh Pollard, Matthew Tomsett 

Pupils: Scarlet Smith 

School: Strafford Primary School 

Gold

Seed Planting Drone: The University of Southampton

ProtoTeam: Joshua Shearing, Ser Lin Ung, J Kee Kok, Joshua Pinker, Kang Jie Lee, Janavi Patel, Ian Williams, Tim Woolman 

Pupils: Emily Jackson 

School: St James’ C of E Primary Academy 

Clean Water Access Bot (C.W.A.B): GKN Aerospace

ProtoTeam: Tom Ramsbottom, Ian Gent, Remo Prior-Calver, Matthew Hunt, Sam Hargrave, Christopher Heaysman 

Pupils: Ben Miles 

School: Countess Gytha Primary School 

Commendation Medal – Winner of the Public Vote

Solar Powered Heated Blanket: Thales – Glasgow

ProtoTeam: Shivam Sharma, Olivia Chard, Ruaridh Colombini Allison, Alexander Brodie, Cameron Doull, Douglas Mackay 

Pupils: Rebecca Young 

School: Kelvinside Academy 

The post Pupils and Engineers from across the UK Honoured for Innovation at Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal Ceremony  first appeared on Primary Engineer.

For many years, we have worked together to bring engineering into classrooms throughout the South East Scotland region through our ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ competition and the ‘Primary Engineer Rail programme’, both which enable teachers to confidently embed engineering in their curriculum and, crucially, bring a real-world context into the classroom for pupils.

Primary Engineer was founded in 2005 and engages primary and secondary school pupils and teachers with the vast and inspirational world of engineering and technology. They work with businesses and industry across the UK to help develop a future, diverse generation of engineering and technology professionals.

Jason Stone, Primary Engineer’s Head of Partnerships for Scotland said:

“Our partnership with The University of Edinburgh has had such a great impact on the pupils and teachers in the schools in this area, enabling them to meet and work with engineering professionals and develop essential skills such as problem finding, problem-solving, improving and adapting. Their work on our national competition ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ – from inspiring participants to prototyping their designs – is a testament to the commitment of the University to developing and inspiring future generations of engineers. We’re looking forward to continuing the partnership through our Leaders Award Competition and our Primary Engineer Rail Programme.”

Katie Grant, Student Recruitment and Outreach Officer for the School added:

“Having been proud supporters of Primary Engineer for many years, we have seen the positive impact the on local primary school pupils and the important role these initiatives play in inspiring them about career opportunities in the sector.”

The post University of Edinburgh partnership renewed! first appeared on Primary Engineer.

These Prototypes are going to be awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold Medals at the Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal Award Ceremony in November, but there is one more thing being awarded – The Commendation Medal. 

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED! Results will be announced on November 19th live at the Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal Award Ceremony.

These prototypes came from the ideas of school pupils who answered the question “If you were an engineer, what would you do?” as part of Primary Engineer’s Leaders Award Competition.

These ideas have been brought to life by talented young engineers who have worked hard to turn these ideas into real, working Prototypes. By voting, you’ll not only help recognise the hard work of these engineers but also celebrate the creativity and ingenuity of the school pupils whose designs sparked these projects. 

Voting will be open until Friday November 15th, and the winner will be announced at the Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal Award Ceremony on November 19th.

Voting has closed but you can see all the Medallists below.

Meet the Teams, Pupils and Prototypes

Clean Water Access Bot

ProtoTeam: GKN Aerospace

Pupil: Ben, Year 5

Description: The Clean Water Access Bot (C.W.A.B) is a solar-powered vehicle that autonomously collects, purifies, and delivers clean water from remote sources to areas with limited access, aiming to provide safe drinking water to underserved communities.

Switch-a-Boot

ProtoTeam: Manchester Metropolitan University

Pupil: Noah, Year 6 

Description: The Switch-A-Boot is a versatile football boot concept with interchangeable outer soles, allowing athletes to adapt to various playing surfaces while reducing costs, enhancing sustainability, and supporting a circular economy by minimizing waste and improving recyclability through easy disassembly

Moving Solar Panel

ProtoTeam: Queens University Belfast 

Pupil: Sam, Year 6

Description: The Moving Solar Panel enhances the utility of photovoltaic (PV) systems on non-optimally oriented rooftops by using a mounting system that allows panels to shift positions, maximizing solar energy capture on east-west facing roofs, despite potential cost challenges; it explores innovative flipping and tracking designs to improve efficiency and aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goal. 

Self Regulation Bracelet

ProtoTeam: University of Sunderland 

Pupil: Zoeya, Year 3 

Description: The Self Regulation Bracelet is designed to improve communication in classrooms for neurodivergent students by using a button-activated system that provides visual responses through colored lights, offering a discrete and impactful solution for enhancing interactions between students, peers, and teachers.

Smart Tap

ProtoTeam: Thales – Belfast 

Pupil: Seyi, Year 4 

Description: The Smart Tap, designed to track and display water usage, volume, and cost, aims to address water cost awareness in homes without meters, with future integration potential for other household water-using areas, focusing initially on the kitchen sink design.

Tap of Germs

ProtoTeam: Thales – Cheadle 

Pupil: Madiha, Year 8

Description: The Tap of Germs integrates software, UV light, and handwashing gel to guide users through effective handwashing and ensure cleanliness, aiming to reduce the spread of germs and improve hand hygiene practices, addressing the issue that 97% of people don’t wash their hands properly. 

Sign right

ProtoTeam: Thales – Crawley 

Pupil: Scarlet, Year 6

Description: Sign Right is an innovative sign language translator app that allows users to record a 10-second video of sign language and translates it into text in real-time, enhancing communication for children with hearing loss in educational settings through user-friendly design and practical classroom tools. 

Solar Powered Heated Blanket

ProtoTeam: Thales – Glasgow 

Pupil: Rebecca, Primary 7 

Description: The Solar-Powered Heated Blanket features solar panels that charge a battery during the day, which powers the blanket at night. Stored in a weatherproof rucksack with a 3D-printed frame to hold the panels, it includes smart controls for heat settings and a temperature sensor for safety. It provides a convenient, reusable solution designed to help the homeless stay warm.

Walkie Frame

ProtoTeam: Thales – Templecombe 

Pupil: Erin, Year 7  

Description: The Walkie-Frame is a walking frame designed with detachable side-mounted walking sticks and clip-on storage bags, aimed at improving convenience and usability for elderly individuals living in small spaces, and enhancing daily living.

Seed Planting Drone

ProtoTeam: University of Southampton 

Pupil: Emily, Year 3

Description: The automated seed-planting robot addresses soil degradation and biodiversity loss by regenerating soil quality through effective seed planting, featuring automated soil sensing for optimal seed selection and eco-friendly design for use in low-accessibility areas, aiming to enhance sustainability and reduce environmental impact.

Thank you to everyone who casted their vote, follow the Primary Engineer socials to see the winner announced on November 19th.

The post Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal: Public Vote first appeared on Primary Engineer.

The visit

Colin, along with another engineer Ryan Harrison, visited Gargieston Primary in January 2024 as part of the school’s STEM engineering week to deliver workshops to pupils from P3 – P7.

In these workshops they demonstrated equipment like thermal cameras, showcased the diverse career paths available in engineering and the relevance of Thales’ work (think passports and airplanes!). Colin also used this visit as an opportunity to talk about Thales’ national partnership with Primary Engineer and launch the ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ competition in the school for the first time.

The STEM week was a new initiative for the school, and it was met with great enthusiasm from the pupils and from the teaching staff. In addition to the sessions run by Thales, the school also had an exciting visit from a team from the National Robotarium and had a variety of workshops organised for their classes by their Primary Science and Sustainability Development Officer and Local Authority Digital lead.

Mrs Warton, Deputy Head Teacher at Gargieston Primary School said “The success of this week has helped to increase our teachers’ confidence in planning and leading STEM learning and teaching and has made us more aware of the ways that STEM activities can be linked to contexts across the curriculum, supporting valuable skills for life and work. We plan to have another STEM week, and would be delighted to have Colin’s support again.”

The competition brought engineering to life for the pupils, challenging the stereotype of what engineering is and who engineers look like, demonstrating that it is all around us. Pupils were tasked with identifying a problem in the world around them and coming up with a creative solution to that problem. The pupils discussed and developed their engineering ideas in class together then started their competition entries at home as homework. This gave parents and guardians an insight into what the pupils had been learning about in class and in particular, many people at home might not come from an engineering background or know that much about engineering so it was a nice loop of learning experiences.

Reminiscing on the visit, Colin commented to say “One of the highlights for me was at the end of the school day watching the pupils leave the classroom and run over to their parents, excitedly telling them about their day with the engineers!”.

The visit proved to be a turning point for many students, including Colin’s daughter. Having always been interested in her father’s work and with a love for making things, the competition sparked further curiosity in her. She was so engaged and enthusiastic that she spent seven hours working on her competition entry. This newfound passion has led her to aspire to a career in engineering.

Celebration

On Friday 10th May 2024 pupils from across Scotland South West visited Prestwick Airport to receive awards and recognition for their engineering ideas.

Scott Dalgleish, Head of Marketing and Communications at Primary Engineer was joined by Carl Graham from GE Caledonian and Colin Scouller from Thales who helped present the awards on the night.

Colin, “Things like this are important because it gives hope for the future. As I looked around the variety of innovative competition entries, I was so energised by the sheer imagination of these pupils. There’s no bias or constraints with pupils, anything is possible, and I love that about working with Primary Engineer. The kids have it and it’s all going to be ok!”

Congratulations to all the winners and Highly Commended, including Primary 7 pupil Mia from Whatriggs Primary School, whose idea “The Book Helper” stood out to the judging panel and won the Judges Award.

Colin was particularly proud of his Primary 3 daughter, Sophia, who was one of the winners on the night for her idea of “The Focus Band”.

Thales’ Longstanding Partnership with Primary Engineer

Thales’ commitment to community outreach and promoting STEM education extends beyond individual volunteer efforts and social value alignment. The company has evolved from being a regional partner to a national partner of Primary Engineer on their Leaders Award competition, demonstrating their dedication to inspiring engineers in the making.

This commitment is further solidified by Thales’ pioneering role in 2023 as Primary Engineer’s first industry partner to build a prototype, “The face for a plant” based on a student’s competition entry.

This year, Thales have been taking things a step further, with its five main sites each creating prototypes inspired by student competition entries.

Get Involved

The success of the Leaders Award “If you were an engineer, what would you do?” competition lies in its accessibility and ease for both schools and engineering professionals. The competition is a valuable resource for teachers, boosting their confidence in delivering STEM education and fostering a collaborative environment between educators and industry.

Pupils cannot aspire to something they didn’t know existed, they need role models which is why bringing engineering and technology professionals into classrooms to work alongside teachers and pupils is a major part of what Primary Engineer delivers.

Become a Primary Engineer ‘Engineer Inspirer’ and discover the opportunities.

The positive impact of these initiatives is evident in the enthusiasm of pupils like Colin’s daughter and the dedication of volunteers like himself. By fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration, competitions like Leaders Award “If you were an engineer, what would you?” play a crucial role in shaping a brighter future for STEM education.

The post Thales Engineer Inspires Local School With The Power of Engineering first appeared on Primary Engineer.