The Manufacturing Technologies Association’s (MTA) flagship Technology, Design and Innovation (TDI) Challenge competition for young secondary school STEM students went ahead undaunted by the Covid-19 restrictions using the latest digital technologies.

Innovative students had to work entirely from home during the lockdown, challenging their creativity more than ever. Acknowledging these unprecedented times, judges threw the competition open to all young people aged 16-19 – creating a single category rather than split by age group.

Not surprisingly, that decision was rewarded, with a large number of high-quality entries being submitted online.

Judging is normally carried out by entry study, interviews and finalists exhibiting their entries at Worcester-based Yamazaki Mazak UK Ltd, the largest manufacturer of advanced machine tools in the UK. However, this year judging had to be carried out entirely virtually as well.

Stewart Lane of Renishaw plc, chair of the MTA education and development committee and chair of the TDI judging panel, said: “The standard of entries this year has been very high and one comment that has come out is that every submission has had a good online explanation of the project and the quality of the videos and work submitted is a credit to everyone who has entered.”

The winners are as follows:

1st place - Ria Bacharach - King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls in Birmingham - The HockeyHand prosthesis - designed to help amputees overcome the barriers they face when playing hockey.

2nd place - Ella Nichols - Kew House School in London – A manufactured dress that grows and shrinks 13 sizes, fitting ages 3-16.

3rd place - Lydia Reid - Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls in Elstree, Hertfordshire – A student desk light with emphasis on sustainability and powering the future.

‘Highly commended’ - William Pickering and Liam Jones - The de Ferrers Academy Sixth Form in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire – The goal was to provide a cost-efficient system capable of providing high-quality aerial photos of a terrain, to be taken for automated (coded) analysis.

As well as prizes for each of the top three entries, their schools were also awarded money through Technology Supplies to purchase D&T equipment to help continue the development of their young engineers.