LIPHOOK, England, March 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Budding young engineers from across the country are gearing up to attend the upcoming Big Bang Fair in Manchester (10-12 March) http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/ and to compete for some big prizes in the Young Engineer for Britain Competition.

They have taken up the challenge to invent and build projects aimed at helping make the world a better place. Forty-one student projects have reached the national finals after winning regional events around the UK last summer.

The aspiring young engineers will be demonstrating mechanical and electronic projects designed to make life easier and safer for able-bodied and disabled people, to help the environment, to enhance experiences in sports, business and leisure. The Young Engineer for Britain finalists are also competing in the National Science and Engineering Competition where the total prize fund is GBP50,000.

Ruth Amos, winner of the title in 2006, who subsequently, aged just 19, was named as the youngest woman ever to be included in the 'Top 35 women in Britain under the age of 35' list by Management Today, says, "Britain has prospered in the past through ingenuity and once led the world through its engineering prowess. Somehow we lost our way and now it is more vital than ever to re-create our engineering success. But ideas on their own are not enough, we need to have the skills to make them happen. The Young Engineer for Britain Competition is a key part of that process."

Own Firm

Ruth, now 20, is taking a three-year break before starting university and managed to start up her own business in 2006 as a result of her competition victory. Her company now successfully markets her award winning 'Stair-Steady' device, which enables physically impaired people to negotiate stairs using their own two feet without the need for a stair-lift. She has also become an engineering ambassador regularly speaking at events around the country and has achieved a high media profile through her personal appearances. Ruth, who is from Sheffield, will be one of the Top Tier judges in the 2010 competition finals.

Entering the competition

Any secondary school students aged 12-19 can enter the 2011 Young Engineer for Britain Competition http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=165

Email: projects@youngeng.org