Engineers of the future: Arkwright Scholars for 2016

This year the School of Engineering is sponsoring three Arkwright scholars. These STEM students from UK schools represent the engineers of the future.

The Arkwright Engineering Scholarships act as a beacon to the most talented STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) students in UK schools and help to ensure that high-potential young people stay engaged in the engineering careers pipeline.

The Awards Ceremony which took place on the 27th October in London announced the awards for the aspiring young engineers.

Peter Blake, from St Catherine’s School, Ham Green, Megan Denley from Simon Langton Grammar School and Conor Hocking from Bishop Wordsworth Grammar School, Salisbury, were announced as the new Arkwright Scholars for Cardiff University. Debbie Syrop represented the School of Engineering at the ceremony and met with the new scholars and their parents.

The new Arkwright Engineering Scholars received their awards at ceremonies supported by the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Cyber Security Industry, spearheaded by Principal Sponsors GCHQ and supported by Gold Sponsors Thales Cyber and Consulting and HMGCC. This year’s Scholars come from a range of educational backgrounds across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and a growing number of British Overseas Schools. This year, 29% of the new Scholars were female.

Dr Martin Thomas CEng FIET, Chief Executive of the Arkwright Scholarships Trust said: “I have been hugely impressed by the creativity, technical skills and leadership prowess of the young men and women receiving their Scholarships this year. It is well-documented that the country needs 100,000s of new engineers to take the economy and society forward. But some of these newly-trained people need to also act as outstanding leadership beacons within industry and academia. The Arkwright Engineering Scholarships are the first step on that road to achieving such a vital position within UK engineering. Congratulations to our 413 new Scholars!”

Robert Hannigan, the Director of GCHQ (and Friday morning’s Principal Guest) said: “Congratulations to all this year's new Arkwright Scholars. I was delighted to meet such a vast pool of young talent: our future leaders in engineering, computing and technology. We need their innovation and invention to meet the cyber security challenge, helping to keep the UK a safe place to live and work online.”

Scholars are selected for their potential as future engineering leaders by assessing their academic, practical and leadership skills in STEM. These are gauged through a rigorous selection process comprising: an assessed application form including a teacher’s reference; a two-hour, problem-solving aptitude exam; and a university-based interview. The Scholarships support students through their sixth form studies and encourage them into top universities or higher apprenticeships.