University Hosts First-ever National University Technical College Challenge

Twelve teams of students from seven University Technical Colleges – secondary schools delivering specialist, employer-led technical education – vied for five prizes. Students were also able to hear career insights from speaker Professor Stephen Westaby, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital – dubbed “the world’s best heart surgeon” – and renowned for being the first surgeon in history to fit a patient with a new type of artificial heart.

Prior to the event, students from Years 10 to 12 formed teams to devise a technical idea which could improve the lives of a demographic within society, such as children, teenagers, the elderly, or disabled people. As each UTC teaches skills in demand by their local employers, the students applied their diverse range of knowledge to the challenge – spanning health, engineering and digital skills.

For example, Engineering UTC Northern Lincolnshire Year 12 designed prosthetic fingers for a malformed hand, while UTC Sheffield City Centre Year 12 team designed an interactive bus stop.

The event took place in the University’s Ross Lucas Medical School Building and was opened by Professor Abigail Moriarty, Pro Vice Chancellor at the University, and Simon Connell, Chief Executive at Baker Dearing Educational Trust.

Following this, teams presented their ideas to the panel of five judges and were scored on criteria including originality, research methods and presentation, clarity of ideas, and market research.

Once all teams had given their presentations, and while the judges picked the winners, students also heard a keynote speech from Professor Stephen Westaby, who gave words of encouragement to students, saying: “If you want to do something, get on and do it. You’ve done really well to get here today. It’s an honour to talk to you – you’ve got your whole lives in front of you.”

Ian McGowan, Head of Schools and Colleges Engagement at the University of Lincoln, said: “The UTC Health Tech Challenge embodies the University of Lincoln’s aims of being an institution which nurtures talent, transforms lives and makes a significant global contribution.

“We were delighted to welcome the Baker Dearing Educational Trust and many UTC students from all over the UK to participate in the challenge. They put forward some creative solutions to modern challenges faced in the health, engineering and digital skills sectors.

“Our University recognises and supports the unique opportunities that a UTC partnership can provide, from equipping students with sought-after technical qualifications and access to industry standard equipment, to addressing the changing needs of 21st Century employers.”

Simon Connell, Chief Executive at Baker Dearing Educational Trust commented: “Congratulations to those teams who took home prizes. Each of them demonstrated the drive, innovative thinking, and brilliant communication skills that the UTC programme tries to impress upon its students.

“The teams had an excellent opportunity to directly interact with several top employers and further develop their technical skills and familiarity with a workplace setting, in keeping with the regular employer engagement that they experience at their UTC.

“Our thanks to all the employers who supported this event and to the University of Lincoln for hosting.”

The winners for each prize are as follows:

• Overall winners: Engineering UTC Northern Lincolnshire Year 12.
• Teamwork: UTC Sheffield City Centre Year 10.
• Sustainability: Engineering UTC Northern Lincolnshire Year 10
• Presentation: UTC Norfolk Year 12
• Student choice: UTC Sheffield City Centre Year 12

Prosthetic fingers project won Year 12 top prize.

Each winning team was awarded a 3D printed trophy and a gift voucher. The prize for overall winner was sponsored by Care Plus Group and North East Lincolnshire Health and Care Partnership.