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Applications open for enhanced Next Generation Award 2016
Applications open for enhanced Next Generation Award 2016
Autocar and Courland Automotive have opened an enhanced version of the unique Next Generation Award programme to all UK resident young adults aged 17-25 for 2016.
Now a five-category competition, the Award is designed to be a career springboard for young people aspiring to work in the ultra-competitive automotive industry. The winner of the 2016 competition will receive a £9000 cash prize, industry acclaim and six months of hands-on work experience, shared between award sponsors Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren Automotive, Peugeot, Toyota, Honda and Nissan, which joins as a brand new award patron this year. The competition invites entrants to submit an original idea or innovation that would improve the UK automotive business in one of five categories – mobility, connectivity, sustainability, customer experience or marketing and communication.
Started in 2009, the Autocar Courland Next Generation Award is now a proven path into the UK auto industry. Roberto Antonio Pace, who won the Award in 2012, is now working as an engineer at McLaren Automotive, the same company at which 2015’s winner Morven Fraser starts the first of her six months of work experience this June.
To broaden accessibility to an even greater number of entrants, the brief for the 2016 Award has even more detail, with the inclusion of five categories into which any submission should fit. Prospective innovations can now apply to any element of automotive business, from concept right through to the aftermarket sector.
Autocar Editor-in-Chief and Award head judge, Steve Cropley, said: “Year after year, the judges and I are consistently amazed by both the standard and ingenuity of the entries we receive. Now in its ninth year, the Award is an established fast-track for talented young adults wishing to kick-start dream careers in the automotive industry. By expanding our categories yet further for 2016, we look forward to seeing a multitude of new cross-category innovative ideas.”
Courland Automotive Global Managing Partner, Martin Bohling said: “Whilst we function principally at board level for the global automotive industry, it’s clear to us that the automotive industry has an acute need for young and diverse talent. We support this Autocar Courland Award because it offers an unparalleled opportunity for the bright industry leaders of tomorrow to gain first-hand experience of what it’s truly like to work with some of the best known automotive brands in the world.”
Entries to the 2016 Award will be open until Tuesday, 30 August 2016 at 17:00. Six finalists will be selected to present their innovations to the panel of judges in November, with the winner being announced at the centenary Annual Dinner of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Tuesday, 29 November 2016.
Gallery
Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award 2015 winner revealed
University student Morven Fraser has been named as the winner of the seventh annual Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award. Fraser, who is currently studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Glasgow, impressed our judges with her innovative concept for body panels that can capture and store energy. The energy capturing system combines photovoltic film, which is applied to the body panels of electric and hybrid vehicles to capture solar energy, and nanobattery storage cells located in carbonfibre body panels to store the energy. The concept could help to extend the range capabilities of those vehicles, as well as reducing the current reliance on heavy lithium ion battery packs.
Morven will now undertake work experience at each of those manufacturers, as well as enjoying a £9000 cash prize. Finalists in this year's competition were also invited to the prize-giving ceremony, held as part of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' annual dinner in central London. The finalists included University of Birmingham student Edward Chamberlain, who proposed a tactile feedback system for accelerator pedals, and Michael Everymann from the University of Portsmouth, whose idea was a self-replenishing windscreen washer system.
Speaking at the event, Autocar editor-in-chief and lead judge Steve Cropley said: "Year on year, the calibre of the entries we receive for this competition raises the bar higher. “Our judging process has been hugely engaging again and it has reaffirmed that you can simply never judge a book by its cover. Often when you see finalists’ submissions for the first time, it’s easy to think you have the measure of the entrant, but when they then breathe life into their ideas, you often find yourself thinking again. “This award was set up to find, nurture and encourage bright new talent for the automotive industry and we’re really proud of the way it continues to go from strength to strength. This year we opened it up to all UK residents aged 17-25 and we’ve received more entries than ever. So many of those entries were of such high quality that it’s been incredibly difficult to choose our finalists, let alone a single winner."
Previous Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award winners are already working in the automotive industry, in areas including PR, engineering, and paint and trim. Applications for the 2016 Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award will open again early next year
They created an idea, made their pitch, and impressed our panel of judges. Read on to find out more about our previous entrant’s ideas
Nicole Agba: ‘Steer Right’
Nicole came up with the idea of incorporating Smart Fabric Interactive Technology (SFIT) into the steering wheel of a car; allowing sensors to detect biological information and detect drink/drug driving and fatigue levels. This targeted the growing importance of road safety and helps to reduce the high proportion of accidents, caused by driving whilst under drink/drugs or fatigue, that occur every year. This idea caught the judges attention with its clear it’s originality and the obvious benefits to both the customer and the auto-industry.
