Mid Sussex STEM Challenge ‘will help enable a Silicon Valley in our region’, says director of Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies

The big event takes place at the South of England Showground in Ardingly on Friday, May 19, and this year pupils must research, develop and build a remote-controlled vehicle that can navigate an obstacle course.

Haywards Heath Town Team chairman Ruth de Mierre said: “Each School’s student team has been charged with designing and assembling a vehicle to a required specification that meets the challenge of a predetermined obstacle course, while navigating the vehicle remotely. This will involve AI, camera attachment, motorised chassis and other design considerations to ensure the vehicle can endure the rigours of the gruelling course.

“All types of engineering and medical companies have come together to ensure that students understand just what a diverse and successful career lies ahead by continuing with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects. These skills are paramount to the economy of our area, where research has shown that engineering accounts for 34 per cent of turnover.”

The challenge launched in the Mid Sussex District Council Chamber on Friday, September 30, last year.

The companies that involved include Flowserve, PSM Marine Engineering, Adelphi, Nuffield Hospital, Bike Smart, Edwards Vacuum, Quantum Technologies and Balfour Beatty. Each one has provided a STEM Ambassador to work with each school and bring them into the workplace to put their STEM learning in context. The students have also prepared a Marketing and Business Management Plan with help from Nuffield Health.

Lady Emma Barnard, the Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, is set to award three trophies at the May event – an overall winner, an Engineering Award and the Race Challenge Award. Mid Sussex MP Mims Davies will join her, alongside the head teachers, CEOs and Professor Winfried Hensinger, director of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies.

Professor Hensinger said: “Building quantum computers will change the way we work and live. But the challenges are severe; we will need the very best scientists and engineers to make it happen. We are seeing an exponential growth in the emerging quantum technology sector, yet, far too few people are currently being trained.”

He said: “The Mid Sussex STEM challenge helps to fill the skills gap by encouraging our youngest and brightest minds to engage within a fascinating science and engineering project.”

He added: “Something that makes me particularly proud about the STEM challenge is the presence of so many promising female students in the competition, effectively addressing the current gender imbalance in the STEM sector. Students who work on the STEM Challenge today may well be building quantum computers in the not so distant future. And the region is aiming to become a new Quantum Silicon Valley based on the world leading expertise we have; the STEM challenge helps to enable such a Silicon Valley in our region.”

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