STEM superstars wow Parliament
Finalists and winners in The Big Bang Competition wowed Westminster (November 18) at EngineeringUK’s annual Big Bang at Parliament event.
A total of 12 students from 6 schools across the country attended the event, with Parliamentarians, guests from the engineering community and technology Sponsors of The Big Bang Competition, Siemens. EngineeringUK host the Big Bang Fair and The Big Bang Competition.
Betsey Ellis, a student at Invicta Grammar in Maidstone, Kent, who won the CAA Award for her AI travel project, impressed guests as did Swansea students from Olchfa School, who won the Big Bang UK Junior Technology award, supported by Siemens, for their fast fashion project. Finalists from Olchfa School in Swansea also attended with their LED tinted window project to help prevent epilepsy attacks. Tottenham student Eva-Marie Pornaris demonstrated her Epi-pen design, and Sam Fricker from Surrey showcased his portable water pollution probe, called AQUABlu.
Pacha Pritchard, a Year 13 student from Cardiff, awarded The UK Young Engineer of the Year 2024 in the Big Bang Competition, showcased her portable pollution monitor which uses emojis to highlight good and bad air quality. She addressed the audience, saying “Growing up, I’ve watched as pollution and climate change impact people’s lives and health, and I knew I wanted to make a difference. I’ve always been interested in understanding how things work, and engineering has given me a toolkit to create solutions for real-world problems. The Big Bang Competition gave me the perfect platform to turn my curiosity into a project that could bring positive change.”
EngineeringUK’s Chief Executive, Dr Hilary Leevers said, “Congratulations to the Big Bang Competition alumni who have joined us today and wowed us all with your talent – you really are STEM superstars. And we need many more young people like you to be interested and excited by STEM and to take that interest into careers in engineering and technology.
“Programmes like the Big Bang, and events like today, really help generate that excitement and interest."
The Big Bang Competition gave me the perfect platform to turn my curiosity into a project that could bring positive change.
— UK Young Engineer of the Year, Pacha Pritchard
