Tomorrow’s engineers turn to robots as schools battle it out at Queen Mary’s University

Robot challenge for schools held at Queen Mary University's engineering challenge (Image: QMUL)

The “Tomorrow’s Engineers” challenge by the university’s School of Electronic Engineering at Mile End to teams aged 11 to 14 from schools all over London was one of nine regional heats taking place, aiming for a place at the national finals in Coventry next Thursday.

The competition organised by Engineering UK encourages students to learn how to build, programme and control autonomous LEGO robots to complete a series of space missions.

Cardinal Pole Secondary in Hackney was just pipped into second place by Harris Academy in Bromley which goes forward to the June 23 finals.

“We need to double the number of graduates and apprentices in the engineering industry to meet the country’s demand,” Engineering UK’s chief Paul Jackson said.

Robot challenge for schools held at Queen Mary University's engineering challenge (Image: QMUL)

“Programmes like Tomorrow’s Engineers aim to help young people from all backgrounds understand the variety and opportunity of a career in engineering.”

The robot challenge introduces pupils to ‘real world’ engineering, technology and robotics. It aims to help put their classroom learning into context and discover career possibilities when they leave school.

Queen Mary’s lecturer Kok Ho Huen said: “I’m always impressed by the ability of youngsters to organize themselves in a professional manner.

“But it’s even more impressive when there are such a large collective of them competing together.”

The young teams took away new skills which boosted their enthusiasm for engineering which made the challenge successful.

Two east London schools competed in last week’s regional heat, Cardinal Pole in Hackney and Valentine’s High in Ilford.