Budding young engineers win at global FIRST® LEGO® League World Festival Teams of young engineers, who’d triumphed in the IET FIRST® LEGO® League UK and Ireland Final, went on to win awards at the World Festival in Detroit, in April. Six teams, who were awarded prizes at our UK and Ireland final back in February, travelled to Detroit to compete against more than 100 teams from around the world. Five of these were awarded prizes. FIRST® LEGO® League, a science and technology challenge aimed at 9-16 year olds, requires teams to build a robot to tackle a series of missions, and create an innovative solution to a real world problem. This year’s INTO ORBITSM challenge was all about space – how humans survive for extended periods in this environment. The World Festival was a celebration of four competitions, spanning a huge age range, with tens of thousands of young people attending who were all keen to demonstrate their skills in robotics, computer programming, teamwork, research, problem solving and communication. The UK winning teams are: –  Team C.D Imreori –  Team L20 –  Team GLIC –  Team Griffin Sprog –  Team Egni For more information on this year’s FIRST® LEGO® League competition, please visit firstlegoleague.theiet.org Inspiring future engineers Member News July 2019 Students solve engineering challenges for James Webb Space Telescope The 2018-19 season of the IET’s Faraday Challenge Days has been taking place across the UK since September 2018, tasking school students to become engineers for the day as they research, design and build solutions to real engineering problems. This year’s challenge is in association with the James Webb Space Telescope, the large space- based observatory, optimized for infrared wavelengths, which will complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope. Teams of students race against the clock to design and build a piece of equipment to support the James Webb team. With a limited amount of ‘Faraday Money’, they have to choose from resources to build their prototype including motors, lights, sensors, wheels and connections. A total of 189 school and sponsored events will have taken place by the end of the season in June, culminating in the National Final at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, in July. Here, the top five teams will compete for a cash prize of up to £1,000 for their school. Natalie Clerke, IET Faraday Education Manager, said: There is huge demand for new engineers and technicians and we’re confident that this initiative will challenge young people’s perceptions of engineers and inspire the next generation by giving them an insight into the life of a real engineer.” For more information on our initiatives to promote STEM subjects and careers in the classroom, visit faraday-primary.theiet.org and faraday-secondary.theiet.org Students making a prototype for the 2018-19 season of the Faraday Challenge Team C.D Imreori at FIRST® LEGO® League World Festival, Detroit 29