The University of Hertfordshire and industry partner MBDA support the Primary Engineer & Secondary Engineer Leaders Award competition for East England. Staff of both MBDA and the university along with student engineers will be interviewed by primary and secondary school pupils across the East region and further afield to find out more about engineering. The children are then challenged to design a solution to a problem they wish to tackle. The winners of the East competition will be showcased at the Awards Ceremony & Exhibition at the University of Hertfordshire in 2019.

The Primary Engineer & Secondary Engineer Leaders Award gives pupils across the East of England the opportunity for children and pupils to interview engineers about their career paths and motivation. Schools are able to develop relationships with industry, both local and national, giving pupils a unique perspective of the engineering profession and its significance in the wider world. This project has evolved into a creative, problem solving, literacy and entrepreneurial project. As pupil’s interview engineers and research engineering in general they are encouraged to look at the world around them to find problems an engineered solution could solve. Every entry has been  graded by engineers and educationalists, all entries receive named certificates

The Leaders Award gives children the opportunity to design a solution to a problem with an explanation of why their idea should be made into a working prototype. The University of Hertfordshire are going to make that a reality for one of the winning entries from the East of England. Dr Rodney Day, Dean of School at the University of Hertfordshire, said “I have been truly impressed by some of the innovative and inspirational ideas being proposed by children from across the age groups in this competition. I will be setting a challenge for our engineering students and technical staff to select one of the best designs that they will make.”