DavyMarkham - News
Students rise to Master Cutler's Innovation Challenge

TWO students from Sheffield Springs Academy are celebrating after winning the second annual Master Cutler's Made in Sheffield Innovation Competition. Their brief, set by DavyMarkham Ltd, was to design a station to organise the safe storage of tools in the workshop. Students from schools in Sheffield have spent three months rising to the challenges set by local businesses that hold the prestigious Made in Sheffield (MIS) Mark.

This culminated in a finals day at Kelham Island Museum recently, as part of the Regional Big Bang celebration of engineering event.

Each team had to present their design and manufacturing process on the day to a panel of judges headed by James Newman, The Master Cutler and including Dr Mike Lowden representing Made in Sheffield and Jackie Freeborn, chief executive of Business & Education South Yorkshire.

All the teams responded magnificently to the challenges set, but students Jonathan Simpson and Zakaria Rob stood out for the judges on the day, not just for their design, but also the business case they had prepared and the quality of their presentation.

They also displayed a full scale version of their design, which was produced for them by DavyMarkham.

The annual competition - which is run as a partnership between MIS, the Cutlers' Company and Business & Education South Yorkshire (b&e) and is supported by Sheffield City Council - provides students between the ages of 13 and 16 with an insight into the world of engineering and manufacturing by enabling them to tackle a real-life product development challenge.

Master Cutler James Newman said: "I am delighted to be supporting the competition for the second year, the region needs more engineers and manufacturers and this collaborative approach between real business and education is a great way of introducing and enthusing young people about future careers in the sector."

Made in Sheffield chairman Charles Turner added: "Part of the role of the Made in Sheffield organisation is to support forward-thinking initiatives like the Innovation Competition. The competition will benefit our members by creating links with potential future employees, while also raising the profile of manufacturing among young people who are about to choose their options."

The day proved to be a double celebration for Springs Academy with a team of year 7 Students winning the Key Stage 3 Technology Challenge delivered by b&e and supported by the Cadbury Schweppes Foundation.

Working with their business partner Firth Rixson the team designed a method of cutting hot billet in two equal pieces during the forging operation, taking into consideration a variety of factors focusing principally on the reduction of waste during the process.

Thanks go to all the companies who supported this years challenges; Betafence Ltd, Chimo Holdings, DavyMarkham Ltd, Firth Rixson Ltd, SRL Countertech, Sheffield Now CIC and Mott MacDonald.

To find out how to get involved and help inspire our next generation of engineers and manufacturers contact John Barber at b&e on 01709 336700 or john.barber@be-sy.co.uk

For further information please contact Jackie Cook, Marketing Executive, DavyMarkham on 0114 291 4346

Issued: 10 August 2010