School pupils, university students and engineers travelled to London this week for the highly prestigious Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal Award Ceremony, a collaboration between Primary Engineer and The MacRobert Trust, with support from WEIR and Christopher Ward.
The event, which was hosted at the prestigious Drapers’ Hall in London, acts as the forerunner to the illustrious MacRobert Award, the leading prize for engineering innovation in the UK. Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal is designed to celebrate the achievements of the school pupils, students and young engineers who have all worked together to create innovative and world-changing prototypes based on a school pupils engineering idea.
The Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal, which is now in its fourth year, is part of the wider “If you were an engineer, what would you do?” annual STEM competition, ran by Primary Engineer. UK School pupils from the ages of 3-19 are tasked with interviewing an engineer, before being asked to identify a problem in the world around them and coming up with a creative, engineered solution to that problem. All entries are read and graded by professional engineers, with every single pupil who takes part receiving a named and graded certificate. The free competition then culminates in exciting regional public exhibitions and award ceremonies, where shortlisted designs are displayed, and the winners and highly commended are invited on stage to receive their awards.
Each year, Primary Engineer’s university and industry partners choose from thousands of shortlisted entries submitted by pupils across the UK, choosing one to prototype and take it from paper to reality in a journey of pure innovation. The ‘ProtoTeams’ who build the prototypes have to do so alongside the pupil who came up with the idea, and it is both ProtoTeam, pupil and school who are given the award at The Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal ceremony in November.
In total 9 ProtoTeams were recognised for their achievement with Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals which was decided by a judging panel comprised of senior figures from industry, education and government.
Dr Susan Scurlock MBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Primary Engineer, spoke at the award ceremony:
“It is a profound honour to host the 2025 Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal at Drapers Hall in London and celebrate the ingenuity of these prototypes which have gone on a journey over the last 12 months, going from paper to reality. Each one is unique, but they all demonstrate tangible real-world impact and the power of helping people, be that individuals or entire communities. We are immensely grateful to The MacRobert Trust, WEIR, and Christopher Ward for their essential support in championing this crucial spirit of innovation and design.”
Find out more and see the full list of medallists by visiting the Primary Engineer website.
(Image – Primary Engineer)