From Ayrshire to Cumbria, young people across the United Kingdom (UK) had the chance to put their creativity to work, thanks to our long-standing partnership with Digital Dairy Chain. SmartSTEMs ran two amazing competitions, “Design a piece of Agri-Tech” and “Design a Dairy product”. These competitions formed part of our interactive workshops, designed to ignite and spark curiosity within the dairy sector and were delivered in schools across the UK. Giving young people the opportunity to put their thinking hats on, get creative and design like future innovators.
Design a Piece of Agri-Tech
The “Design a Piece of Agri-Tech” competition got young people to step into the shoes of an Engineer and design a piece of Agri-Tech directed at helping a farmer. Young people used a combination of critical thinking, creativity and design skills to come up with some amazing creations. The winner, Olivia-Jane from Ayrshire, designed “Howard the Herder”, a robot that helps move cows to parts of the field with the best food. As a prize for her amazing design SmartSTEMs 3D printed Olivia-Jane her very own model of Howard and delivered it to her during her school assembly along with some other goodies. We couldn’t just commend Olivia-Jane as there were to many amazing entries. Runners up Juliet (Renfrewshire), Elise (North Lanarkshire) and Magnus and his classmate (South Lanarkshire) were all presented with a goodie bag and certificate to recognise their wonderful achievements.
Design a Dairy Product
The “Design a Dairy Product” competition challenged young people to get creative and think outside of the box and invent unique dairy products. Winners included Findlay from Ayrshire with Pawghurts, yoghurt shaped paw bites, Alice from Cumbria with a rosemary soft cheese, and Lucy from Dumfries & Galloway with Dubai Delight pistachio ice-cream. Each winner got to bring their creation to life at the various Maker Space locations across the UK, showcasing creativity, and a real flair for innovation.
At the various Maker Space locations, winners had the opportunity to make their product and got to witness their ideas move from concept to a real product. During each visit, the winner got to tour the facilities, explore the equipment, and learned more about the science behind their product and how innovation happens within the dairy sector. This experience also gave the young people a great insight into the industry and the future career prospects.
Giving young people a platform to be creative, explore, and think like a future STEM innovator is vital to the future of the dairy and Agri-Tech sectors. Through our continued partnership with Digital Dairy Chain, we are proud to play a continuous role in inspiring the next generation to explore the exciting opportunities within these sectors. By encouraging creativity, curiosity and innovation, we hope to spark ideas today that could shape the future of the dairy industry tomorrow.
To find out more about Digital Dairy Chain and their work, click here.
