TDI Challenge 2018 finalists revealed

The annual event has been going for 15 years and exists to help teachers and lecturers to promote the great work of their design & technology and engineering students and to celebrate the creativity and innovation taking place inside the curriculum.

The competition also helps industry to better understand the challenges of the education world and how we might be able to assist through collaboration.

The competition is aimed at GCSE and A-Level students, who submit their coursework projects and a panel of industry judges made up of MTA members decides on the winning projects.

The challenge is designed to encourage students to not only think about product design and manufacturing, but to consider the marketing aspect of their project and what gap it fills.

After much deliberation, the finalists for 2018 have been announced (see below).

Laura Pickering, MTA education and development manager, said, “At the MTA we do everything we can to shine a light on the opportunities a career in engineering can offer young people. Over 50% of the schools that entered this year’s TDI Challenge had not previously entered the competition, and we are really pleased to be engaging with a wider network of schools and colleges than ever before”

Two age categories exist within the competition 14-16 and 17-19, with six finalists in each age group. There is also a group category at 17-19 age group and three teams are competing for that prize.

In addition to prizes on offer for the students placing in the top three in each category, the winning school in each category will also win £2000 of credit to spend with Technology Supplies Limited on D&T equipment for the classroom. Runner-up prizes of £1000 and £500 are also available for schools in each category. Individual prizes up for grabs include an iPad, GoPro, UE Boom Speaker, a drone plus many more.