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Chris won the Water Zoneback in March. We asked Chris Hill to write a brief report on what he’s done with his prize money. Here’s what he said.. I passed the cheque for £500 to OWL bikes and they were delighted. The work they do there is fantastic and passes on real, hands-on engineering skills to young people who may otherwise be overlooked by society and never given this opportunity. I am a huge supporter of this charity and have given lots of money and volunteer time to it over the years since it started. OWL Bikes provides vocational training for disabled and disadvantaged people by recycling and refurbishing unwanted bikes to sell to the public at reasonable prices. I met the three young people in the photos and their dexterity and hand-eye co-ordination has improved massively over the few weeks they have been involved in the project. The project … Continue reading →

Students have spoken. The votes have been counted. Congratulations CHRIS, we look forward to hearing how you spend your £500 prize money. Hard luck to KEN and thank you to all the other engineers who took part. You were all brilliant and each and every single one of you has contributed to the great success of this event. We’ve had two weeks of hot debate, stimulating chat and mind-boggling facts. Students, don’t forget to fill in the event feedback survey to be in with a chance to win £20 WH Smith vouchers, here: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/857736/I-m-an-Engineer-March-2012-Tell-us-what-you-think

We’ve counted, checked and rechecked the votes since yesterday and now it’s game over for… JED This leaves just KEN and CHRIS to fight it out for the £500 prize tomorrow. What would they both do with the money, you ask? Ken says “I would ask the “Design and Making Centre for Cornwall” to help make three or four devices to demonstrate how water behaves, for STEM Ambassadors in Cornwall to use in the classroom” and Chris says “I’d quite like to support a voluntary youth group – I’m open to suggestions as to how”. The competition is hotting up and the engineers are pulling out all the stops to secure your all important final vote. Only you decide who gets the £500 prize. Not your teacher, not the other engineers. Ask them more questions to help you decide who should win – ASK And most importantly vote NOW to make sure your … Continue reading →

We’ve counted the votes since yesterday and now it’s time to evict… ALEX In just 24 hours time the final 2 Water Zone engineers will be revealed to battle it out in the final. Who gets through to the final for a chance to win £500? YOU decide! The last 3 engineers have it all to play for and they’re fighting for YOUR vote. So vote NOW to make sure your favourite engineer makes it through to Friday’s final – VOTE If you haven’t made up your mind why not ask the engineers those all important tie breaker questions to help you decide? ASK One student in each zone will win a £20 WH Smith voucher for asking the best questions in the opinion of the moderators. So keep asking those mind boggling questions that push the engineers to their limits, and it might just be you… Sorry to see … Continue reading →

It’s been a fantastic event so far and the engineers have worked hard, answering thousands of questions between them. But on Friday there can only be one winner in each zone, so some of them have to go. We are sorry to have to do this to you, but the first engineer to be evicted is… HARRIET Thanks so much for all you’ve done. We hope you’ve enjoyed taking part. There will be evictions every day for the rest of the week, with the winner announced on Friday. Keep voting students! Some of the great questions we’ve had so far include: Are shadows made of atomes? Is you work sustainable? Have you ever made a mistake in your job that could have ended in disaster? Who will walk off with the prize? YOU decide!

On Tuesday the engineer with the fewest votes will be evicted out of Water Zone. YOU decide who goes… Will it be: ‘curious, adventurous, teacher’ Ken ‘flood mad, footballer’ Jed ‘jolly, busy, round’ Harriet ‘dependable, resourceful, interested’ Chris ‘optimist, curious, different’ Alex After Tuesday’s eviction, you get a new vote to save your favourite engineer in the evictions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.   Next Friday the surviving engineer will be declared the Water Zone winner and win the £500 prize!  

Here are some of our favourite student questions in Water Zone so far: “Do you feel it’s hard being an engineer seen as so much has already been made and perfected? Or do you like the chalenge?“ “What made you interested in working with involvement with water supplies in rural communities?“ “Do you enjoy building things on river thames?“ “are engineers weird?“ Have a look at the engineers’ answers and let them know what you think in a comment. At the end of the event, we will pick the Water Zone student winner, who’ll win a a £20 WH Smiths voucher for asking the best questions and participating fully.