More than 100 talented future engineers from schools in 15 countries will meet in the West Midlands in the spring for the world finals of the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools technology challenge (www.landrover.com).

The students will compete to design and build miniature remotely controlled 4x4 vehicles over four days (13-16 April) at the University of Warwick, which is near Jaguar Land Rover’s headquarters in Whitley.

Thousands of young people have taken part in the competition since 2006; it went global in 2015 and now runs in 20 countries. The world finals will bring together all the national champions to compete for the world trophy.

Chris Thorp, JLR director of responsible business, said: “As the automotive industry accelerates towards anautomated, connected, electric and shared future, we are passionate about inspiring the next generation of engineering talent.

“The Land Rover 4x4 in Schools technology challenge is a vital part of our education programme, and we’re delighted to be hosting the world finals.”

Student teams around the world are now preparing for the finals and working hard to produce a world-beating remote-control scale-model off-road vehicle that incorporates the lessons learned in their national final competition.

The student teams use software coding to design and build a four-wheel-drive all-terrain vehicle capable of negotiating road surfaces and obstacles that include water dips, a rope bridge and rocks — all on a bespoke track.

The teams also have to present their knowledge of vehicle design and engineering to a panel of judges.