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Business & Economy

Bring It On inspires the next generation of engineers at the Beacon of Light

Earlier this month the Beacon of Light in Sunderland welcomed around 2000 children for Bring It On North East 2019.

A collaboration of national and regional organisations, Bring It On aims to help reduce the skills gap within engineering by inspiring the next generation of young people.

80 exhibitors including Emerson, Northumbrian Water, Nissan, Venator and Siemens were present over the two-day event, each showing the diverse range of opportunities available to budding engineers.

Children learned about a wide range of equipment and interacted with professionals involved in the subsea, oil, gas, automotive, digital, chemical and creative industries.

The event also welcomed international VIP guests – Dr Andrew Aldrin, president of the Aldrin Family Foundation and Jim Christensen, executive director of ShareSpace Education – on the second day of the two-day engineering event.

Jamie Ollivere, managing director at RTC North, said: “It’s always great to see previous industry exhibitors returning to ‘Bring It On’ because it reinforces how important the STEM agenda is to their future.

“I know from conversations I’ve had with those attending that these events do matter, and career choices are influenced.

“The event was a huge success and thanks to all the supporters, sponsors, staff and volunteers, it was clear that the children were having a fantastic time.”

In advance of the exhibition, children aged 9-17 were invited to enter the Big Bang Competition, a showcase of any science, technology, engineering or maths project they have recently completed.

On each day of the competition pupils had the opportunity to present their work for judging by a range of employers, universities and journalists.

The competition boasts £20,000 worth of prizes, including the chance to be crowned UK Young Engineer or GSK UK Young Scientist of the Year.

Event sponsors this year were Make it Sunderland, RTC North, IMechE, Community Foundation, Reece Foundation and Cleveland Scientific Institution.