UK Space Design Contest
On Saturday 7th October, Gateacre Students visited the University of Liverpool to participate in the UK Space Design Contest and to also act as a pilot group for the new UK Ecology and Environment Challenge (Envirodc).
The UK Space Design Contest (UKSDC) has been running at universities throughout the UK since 2009 and is a science, engineering and business challenge designed as a simulation of life in the space industry. The competition fosters skills including design, public speaking, teamwork and leadership in STEM. It showcase the value that students can gain from further study or careers in STEM disciplines.
Our physics group, of 13 students GCSE Science students, came in second place for their first ever entry to the UKSDC competition at the Liverpool Regional Competition. Their challenge was to build a base on the dark side of the moon for 12,000 people - taking into consideration the engineering, human and economic factors of their moon base. Our Year 10 students were voted in as President and Vice-Presidents of their company and worked incredibly well alongside A-Level Physics students from North Liverpool Academy.
A further 10 students attended the Ecology and Environment challenge sponsored by the Save Our Planet charity, Dangoor education and the UK Space Agency. In this business and engineering simulation, the client was seeking innovative proposals from the company to tackle pressing environmental issues on our planet. This required participants to harness their creativity, enhance their communication skills, and employ critical thinking.
Our biology group spent the day working with engineers from University College London to build a settlement in Sierra Leone. They envisioned new power supplies, infrastructure and medical care for their settlement. At the end of the day, they also presented their project to the Space Design students and our students feedback will now potentially see the programme roll out across the UK next year.
All of the students handled some difficult questions from the competition judges and performed brilliantly. Gateacre staff are so proud of both sets of students for presenting infront of a university lecture theatre full of students and staff from schools across the North West. We can’t wait to return to the competition next year!
https://uksdc.org
https://envirodc.org/
