Photo - Alan Mak MP meets aspiring scientists from Havant College
Havant MP Alan Mak has given his backing to the next generation of rocket scientists at the BlottMatthews Mission to Mars Competition at Langstone Hotel. The competition, devised by Charles Matthews and Richard Blott, and supported by the Young Engineers Charity, saw sixth form students from across Portsmouth and Havant for a £5000 prize by designing a manned mission to mars.
The Havant MP awarded the prize for ‘Inspired Engineering’, recognising a particularly impressive use of complex mathematics, to the submission from Oaklands Catholic Sixth Form College students. A team of experts chose the winner, having reviewed all five submissions from Havant College, Portsmouth High, Oaklands, Portsmouth College and Portsmouth Grammar.
Mr Mak took the opportunity to promote funding interest in related school subjects such as science, technology, maths and engineering. The Havant MP spoke to students about acquiring the right skills to go out and succeed in the workplace, and how to make the most of their education in their final years of school and college.
Following the ceremony, Alan Mak said: “I was delighted to meet the next generation of budding rocket scientists at the BlottMatthews Mission to Mars competition awards. The entries were all of an extremely high standard, and the judging panel must have had a difficult time in picking an overall winner.”
The Havant MP added: “Subjects such as maths, technology, and science are key to the future of a successful workforce and economy. The Government recognises this, and has committed funding to the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering’s STEM Diversity programmes which are helping to attract people to these careers.”
The STEM programme facilitates a network of over 28,000 volunteers who go into school to promote careers in science, technology and engineering – and are pushing female involvement in these industries in particular.
Following the awards, professional engineer and competition organiser, Charles Matthews, said: 'It was great to see Alan come along, speak and present an award. Around half the participants were young women and indeed an all-girls team was runner up. But the Engineering Profession has less than 10% women engineers and we must continue to drive hard to increase this number because currently a huge pool of talent is being lost to the profession.'
Mr Matthews added: “It is good to see our local MP showing support for the core subjects in our industry, and I hope that the government continues to support school, college and university programmes for the next crop of British engineers, mathematicians and rocket scientists!”