For the third successive year, Bosch has run the Award with the help of The Independent and the RAE. It aims to reach students aged between 14 and 24 in order to raise their awareness and encourage them to consider a career in engineering.

The ceremony, hosted by ex-Tomorrow’s World presenter and President of Young Engineers Kate Bellingham, proved to be a success with the press and organisations such as IET, STEMIT and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines attending. The day featured presentations from Richard Noble OBE – project director of the Thrust SSC, Bill O’Riordan – former Chief Scientist of Fujitsu and Imperial College London, and Steve Connor – Science Editor at The Independent.

The competition is growing and the number of entries this year doubled from last year to over 500 essays. All were of a very high standard and covered eastern countries such as India, South Korea and Japan as well as the UK and USA.

However, winner of the 19-24 age category, Carmel Digweed, from the University of Sheffield, and winner of the 14-18 age category, Christopher Cubitt, of Ilford County High School, both wrote about China’s explosive development. Their essays, published in The Independent on Thursday 17th July, earned them a cash sum, the top prize being £1000.

Christopher commented, “I am so pleased to have won and am hoping that the award will help my career prospects and university applications – and the money won’t hurt either!”

Managing Director of Robert Bosch in the UK, Robert Meier, said, “This competition is very important for Bosch as we are a company that drives change through innovation. The evidence of the need for such a competition is made clear when you read the work of these young people, containing as it does the subtle thread about the sheer number of engineering graduates emerging from countries like India and China.”

Further details of the competition are available from Independent.co.uk, and details of next year’s competition will be announced later this year.