Children Challenged To Design Local Sports Venue
30th November, 2010
SCHOOL children in the South West will compete to design a community sports venue, taking into account all the engineering challenges this presents, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South West announced today.
The competition is a priority for new ICE president Peter Hansford, who will focus on skills development and retention as a key issue during his presidential year.
Studying for a degree in engineering requires a school level education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, so engaging pre-19s is vital to ensuring new talent is attracted into the profession.
Create Sport, developed in partnership with Arup and the Engineering Development Trust (EDT), aims to do just that, challenging 12 to 13 year olds across the UK to plan, design and construct a model for a new sports venue in their region.
Trish Johnson, ICE South West Regional Director, said: “This project will give school students a chance to gain hands-on experience of the kind of work civil engineers do day-to-day, highlighting the range of skills needed and impressing on them the career opportunities that exist within the built environment. We hope that local schools will get on board with this fantastic venture and produce the high class entries I know the South West can generate. I look forward to seeing what kind of a sports venue our young people think we need.”
School children will be guided by ICE schools ambassadors as they plan and design their venue. They will be challenged to think about the project from an engineering perspective, taking into account real technical, infrastructure and sustainability constraints and concerns such as transport links, flooding, drainage and water use, energy use and generation, environment (biodiversity), communities/town planning and safety aspects.
ICE President Peter Hansford said: “By engaging children with civil engineering at a young age we can hopefully influence their career path early on, crucial if we want to have a homegrown skills base to deliver world class infrastructure in the future. It’s equally as important that we are engaging parents and teachers to be aware of the opportunities civil engineering presents.”
Teams will be required to submit a full project report and venue model for judging by an expert panel. Finals will then be held across all regions, with the national final being held at ICE headquarters in Westminster, London, in June 2011.
Sarah Bowden, responsible for community projects and the SportsAid Partnership at Arup, said: “This competition will allow us to unearth some truly creative and talented young design engineers. Arup is delighted to have conceived this project and our firm continues to support schools and raise awareness and enthusiasm for careers in the sector within the engineering, design and construction industry.”
Mark Williams, the EDT education director, said: “The EDT is delighted to have been part of the Create Sport Challenge. This stimulating STEM experience gives pupils the opportunity to be creative and innovative but also rigorous in developing their project outcomes. Teamwork, problem solving, report writing and presentation skills will be significantly developed throughout the competition phase. The pupils will benefit enormously from Create Sport and we eagerly await the exciting design solutions they will produce.”
The winning teams will be eligible for a range of prizes including exclusive visits to major sports and engineering sites, cash and signed memorabilia.
For more information and to register please go to www.createsport.org.uk or email challenge@createsport.org.uk .
ENDS
