'Our World in 2050' winners

The Grantham Institute for Climate Change opened its doors to its first school pupils on 17th March, winners of a competition organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The Grantham Institute for Climate Change opened its doors to its first school pupils on 17th March. The three 13-year old girls won a trip to the Grantham Institute as part of a competition organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Our world in 2050

The competition, ‘Our World in 2050’, focused on what’s needed to adapt sustainably to climate change by 2050 and was aimed at inspiring school pupils to consider a career in engineering. The winning entry of a treadmill power source saw the pupils, from Penair School in Truro, whisked up to London to receive their certificates and prize of two days sightseeing mixed with educational activities.

Their visit to the Grantham Institute as part of the activities introduced them to some of the climate related research occurring at Imperial, including biochar production, ocean modelling and green fuels.

The trip provided the pupils with an insight into how engineering skills can be used to tackle climate change, and they’ve returned to school with a new enthusiasm for the subject.

Racing tour

Dr Matthew Piggott introduced ocean modelling, whilst Dr Branko Bijeljic showed how carbon in the atmosphere can be captured and stored underground. Dr Geoffrey Fowler followed with a demonstration on biochar production. 

The pupils toured some of the labs doing the research, and saw how research postgraduate Bojan Tamburic is studying how to use algae as a sustainable hydrogen source.

Their final stop was the Racing Green workshop. Undergraduate Billy Wu from the Racing Green project showed them how they are designing and building a hybrid fuel cell racing car with no carbon emissions.

Sustainable visits

The school children and the staff were impressed with their visit to the Grantham Institute, and it is hoped that the trip heralds the beginning of many more visits from future competition winners.