ENGINEERING Engineering challenge


The Bosch Technology Horizons Award – now in its sixth year – is a national essay-writing competition run by Bosch in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering


B


OSCh relIeS on engineers to innovate and create the cutting edge products that their reputation is built on today – a reputation as a worldwide brand at the forefront of engineering and innovative technologies. engineers influence many


aspects of modern life, and a career within engineering can be extremely rewarding. For these reasons, Bosch prides itself on nurturing and developing talented individuals who they believe can make a difference to their organisation and to the engineering community. that is why Bosch recruits a select number of students and graduates every year to participate in student internships and graduate specialist programmes. Offered to promising applicants, the two different programmes seek to pass on the expert knowledge that has become the basis for all Bosch innovations. robert Bosch was only 25-years-old when he


founded the company Bosch and 2011 marks its 125th anniversary. Bosch is focused on showing young people just how important engineering is to future development and that, as an engineer, you can make a real difference in the world. that is one of the reasons why Bosch is committed to this award. the Bosch technologyhorizons Award is designed


to encourage young people to get excited about engineering and to consider it as a career option. the award not only offers a cash prize of £700 for the first-placed essay in the 14 to 18 age group, but also a sought-after work experience placement for the winner, providing an insight into just how valuable engineering is to a global brand such as Bosch.


How to enter


The Bosch Technology Horizons Award, a national essay-writing competition, is run in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering. To be in with a chance of winning, all


your students have to do is write a 500- word essay answering one of the following questions: 1) How will engineering and technology change the way we live in the next 125 years? 2) What do you think was Robert Bosch’s greatest engineering achievement in his lifetime and why? The new 2011 website is packed full of


helpful hints and tips on writing a winning essay as well as interesting information on the origins of Bosch and how the company has grown over the last 125 years. There are three different ways to enter:


The future: Last year’s 14 to 18 winner in the Technology Horizons Award Caitlin Willis receives her prize from Dr Peter Fouquet, president of Bosch in the UK


the award is also a great way for teachers to get


students excited about SteM subjects, technology and engineering in particular. the dedicated teachers’ section of the new website has a selection of resources that can all be adapted to suit different subjects, and to fit in with lesson plans. Also new for 2011 is the option to upload a video.


While not part of the entry, this allows entrants, teachers, or groups of students to expand on topics covered within their essays, comment on some of robert Bosch’s achievements, or share their thoughts and ideas about the future of engineering. For the past six years, the award has attracted an


increasing numbers of entrants: last year’s award achieved a record-breaking 773 entries across the age groups.


Are engineering and technology essential for future development? By Caitlin Willis


“The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.” Malthus 1789, Chapter 1. The development of technology and engineering and the ways in which they have shaped the way we live means that we have become so dependent on them that the human race is now in a population predicament. They have provided a better standard of living and have helped to create new medicines which mean that the average life expectancy has increased by 22.2 years since 1900. Without engineering, it will become increasingly impossible to feed the growing population. New methods of growing food in smaller spaces with less waste and a higher yield are necessary to cope with this problem. Alternative methods of producing heat and electricity are required. Sustainable methods are required to prevent other world’s resources such is consequence of an increasing population and wasteful energy usage and as most energy comes from non-renewable sources, a “Malthusian” catastrophe appears more imminent. If the population carries on climbing at the alarming rate of 1.10 per cent a year (estimated growth rate 2009) other methods of housing will be needed: inhabiting planets such as Mars by creating biospheres will need to be considered. However, this sort of technology cannot be designed and created without the skill of engineers. Thomas Robert Malthus saw the difference between population growth and resources as being analogous to the difference between exponential and linear growth. Currently, most populations are experiencing exponential growth. Some population has inhabited a new country, or when countries are suffering from wars or epidemics, the population will still grow and will eventually reach the limits of the resources provided by the Earth. As technology and engineering have got us into the problem of the battle between


resources and population, we are inevitably going to have to rely on them to resolve it. However, it remains to be seen as to whether technology and engineering can solve the problem or just prolong the status quo. Is there something else that will get us out of this predicament or will we reach a point where the human race becomes the architect of its own destruction? I realise throughout this essay that the main points have been about the population and


resources, but I believe that the future can’t be developed and sculpted in the same way as it has been in the past. We have reached a point where technology and engineering are so dominant a part of our lives that without them the human race will suffer; but with them, unless developed in the right way, they will lead the human race into even more of a problematic situation.


the winning essay in 2010 for the 14 to 18 age


group came from Caitlin Willis, from Chelmer Valley high School in Chelmsford. You can read her essay below. the standard of entries each year is astounding and this year will be no exception, meaning the judging


online, individual postal entry or group postal entry – more information about all three methods is available from the website. Students can start writing their essay straightaway and deadline for submissions is March 18, 2011. For more information about entering


and for full terms and conditions, see www.bosch.co.uk/technologyhorizons


panel will be faced with yet another difficult decision. the 2011 panel is made up of leading industry figures, including Dr Peter Fouquet, president of Bosch in the UK, SecEd’s publisher, Pete henshaw, and Professor helen Atkinson, fellow of the royal Academy of engineering.


SecEd


In times of austerity Psycho babble


A letter has come home in my six-year-old son’s schoolbag imploring eligible parents to register for free school meals, even if they intend to send packed lunches. It goes without saying that the school is provided with extra funds for eligible students, and in times of austerity, every extra pound counts. the cuts will require school leaders to take


difficult decisions, and cuts of their own. the prime minister has called upon Britain to retrieve her “war-time spirit”, make changes to our lifestyles and welcome the austerity measures as we struggle to get the country back on track. there are, however, a few


problems with this. research indicates that this type of spirit is only present and willingly adopted when people believe that there is complete equality in the sacrifices required. In the case of education, this doesn’t seem to be the case, as some schools will benefit more than others, and we will still look over our shoulders at the academies and public schools. Second, this spirit exists when


we share a common goal or, in the case of the war, “enemy”. It’s hard to work out what this goal is, as the massive cuts don’t appear to have touched the country’s deficit in any significant way and have been delivered en masse with no clear-cut agenda. But let’s say we give Mr Cameron a chance


here, and work upon developing this spirit in our schools, encouraging students to take part and come up with ideas of their own. Perhaps the best way to initiate this is to create the image of a collective enemy – in this case, unfair government cuts. Why don’t we adopt a “let’s show them”


approach. Making the most of it can indeed create a sense of community and purpose that can unite our schools and probably provide scope for a little imagination and ingenuity. First of all, work out the difference between needs


and wants. the majority of families are faced with a similar set of decisions, and it can’t hurt to put it to the students themselves. Of course, some students


might claim that mathematics and science labs are unnecessary conveniences, but working out what aspects of school life are expensive and possibly unnecessary is a good exercise – particularly when students are involved. ranking wants can also help to prioritise where


any extra money should be allocated, and if students want something enough, there is no reason why they shouldn’t go out there and achieve it. Get the kids out there in the community – asking


local businesses to sponsor the library or the gym, for example, or setting up celebrity speaker events where a famous local person will speak for a fundraising event. Parents can become involved too. Many schools already have volunteer parents, and if it means crucial services don’t get cut, you’ll find many parents will come on board. Small things like changing


all communication to online newsletters can save a great deal of money, as can buying cheaper


loo roll. Silly examples, of course, but success is often in the detail. Your students will undoubtedly come up with many more ideas if it makes a difference to the clubs and


activities they want to continue. empower students by making budget cuts of your own and allowing them to assess how they should be implemented. For example, clubs, activities and societies that are usually funded by the school without comment could have


their budgets handed over to student leaders, who will have to work within financial limits and make decisions about how cuts can be made. there is some merit in creating a collective spirit


of co-operation, even to the extent of encouraging a little competition between neighbouring schools to see who can “waste” the least and make the most from less. Give it a go – you may be amazed by how resourceful your students and staff, and parents, can be.


• Karen Sullivan is a bestselling author, psychologist and childcare expert. Email KESullivan@aol.com. She returns in a fortnight.


SecEd • January 20 2011


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