Anglia Ruskin joins forces with Primary Engineer

Published: 12 August 2021 at 13:55

Engineering student at work

ARU is the East of England partner for annual competition for 3–19-year-olds

Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is partnering with Primary Engineer to help inspire local youngsters and spark their interest in engineering.

Primary Engineer is an educational not-for-profit organisation that provides programmes to encourage young people, aged between 3 and 19, to consider STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers.

ARU is the East of England partner for Primary Engineer’s ‘If You Were an Engineer, What Would You Do?’ competition, which each year sees tens of thousands of young people identify problems – large and small – and design solutions to solve them. University engineering teams will then bring some of these ideas to life by creating working prototypes. 

Previous entries to the competition – which typically receives a 50:50 gender split of entries – have included a flat-pack wind turbine which could be used to generate electricity in refugee camps, and a way of harnessing the power of trampolines to charge mobile phones. 

As part of the competition, experts from ARU’s School of Engineering & the Built Environment will be interviewed by the participants and will help to judge the entries from across the East of England. 

ARU will also host an exhibition of entries from local youngsters and hold a regional awards ceremony on campus next year.

Dr Susan Scurlock MBE, CEO and Founder of Primary Engineer, said:

“We’re delighted to announce Anglia Ruskin as our University Partner for the East of England region.  The partnership provides opportunity for more young people to identify with engineering based on their own interests and passions and by being inspired by the wealth of engineering expertise at Anglia Ruskin.

“It will be exciting to see the designs from pupils across the region in the next academic year and also which will be selected by the university to be brought to life by ARU engineers.”

 

Professor Laurie Butler, Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of ARU’s Faculty of Science and Engineering, said:

“Engineering is such an important subject as it plays a vital role in practically everything we experience and interact with on a day-to-day basis. 

“Helping to inspire the next generation of engineers is incredibly important for all our futures, and our experts from the School of Engineering & the Built Environment are thrilled to be working with young people from across the region to pass on their knowledge and help shape their exciting ideas.”

 

The ‘If You Were an Engineer, What Would You Do?’ competition is free to enter and is open to all primary and secondary schools in the UK.  Teachers can register online, and schools will be provided with resources and lesson plans to support the competition. For further information, please visit: www.leadersaward.com