THE UCL OCEAN HEALTH CHALLENGE – COULD YOU SAVE OUR OCEANS?
25.09.2024HNC is delighted to reveal that the College will be taking part in University College London’s (UCL) Ocean Health Challenge, a national challenge in which students from across the country will be tasked with designing and pitching an engineering solution to reduce and prevent plastics from entering our oceans. Could you come up with a solution to rid the world’s oceans of plastic waste and help to shape a better future for all?
It is estimated that there are over 170 trillion pieces of plastics in the world’s oceans, and that that figure is likely to triple by 2040 if action isn’t taken. The Ocean Health Challenge will see students up and down the country work together in their college and school teams to design a sustainable solution to combat this ever-growing problem, and over a ten-week period, the teams will be tasked with designing, prototyping and pitching their idea. This is a task designed to increase awareness of the environmental challenges our planet faces and will develop knowledge in areas as wide as geography, design and technology and the sciences. Although open to all Year 12 students at HNC, this is a challenge that would especially appeal to students studying Environmental Science, Biology, Geography, 3D Design and Applied Science.
Taking place on Friday lunchtimes from the w/c 7 October, the Ocean Health Challenge is an early opportunity to take part in one of HNC’s lunchtime enrichment programmes. Those in the team will attend ten hands-on sessions, during which the group will research and develop a solution, create a prototype, and plan a final pitch, which will then be delivered in front of one of UCL’s Stem Ambassadors, and fed back to the national judges. Throughout the competition, teams will also have access to expert guidance, led by renowned UCL academics and broadcasters Dr. Fiona Truscott, Dr. Helen Czerski and Dr. Zoe Laughlin, on the engineering design process, plastic pollution in the ocean environment, and the science of materials.
The competition will be judged across a variety of age categories, and shortlisted entries will be assessed by an expert judging panel at UCL, with winning teams securing a cash prize for their school or College, and an individual cash prize for each team member. Ellie Freeman, Teacher of Science, comments “If you’re passionate about the environment, or you are hoping to progress to an environmentally conscious career, this is the opportunity for you! This is a genuine chance to develop your skills in teamwork, leadership and communication, and for students hoping to progress to a STEM based career, this nationally recognised challenge will support your UCAS applications and provide a talking point during admissions interviews. As a greener College, we work with our students from across the curriculum to reduce the impact we have, and the Ocean Health Challenge is another way in which we can work together to help to shape a better future”.
If you would like to find out more about the Ocean Health Challenge, please email Ellie on e.freeman@huddnewcoll.ac.uk. Don’t forget that our full enrichment offer will be launched next week!
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