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The science Oxford Apprentice 2010 has drawn to a close with Jennifer McWhirter from the Henley College earning the title, £500 and a two week works placement with Oxford Catalysts.

The Challenge:

The Science Oxford Apprentice enterprise competition began back in February with 20 students from 8 secondary schools across the county attending the first round.

Round 1:

In this round students’ were introduced to Oxfordshire’s high-tech green economy through a presentation from Nicola McConville of Blake Lapthorn. Nicola gave examples of local companies who had developed scientific ideas and transformed them into products or services that tapped into the ‘green’ market.

Andy Holwell of Oxford Catalysts was able to build on this information by providing a presentation on his experience as a chemist and market analyst. Oxford catalysts have invented a technology to generate superheated steam wherever it is needed, instantly and without the need for an external source of electricity – using a reactor that can be as small as a sugar cube. This product has many applications including oven cleaning, chewing gum removal, and hospital disinfection systems.

The final presentation came for David West of James Cowper. David was able to highlight to students the importance of marketing and presentation skills in getting your message across.

In between the presentations the students were set a task. Based on an article on the properties of deep sea snail shells, the students had to work in teams to come up with possible ‘green’ applications. They needed to consider a number of criteria, including stakeholders, competitors, unique selling points, and of course their market. At the end of the day the groups pitched their ideas to the judges trying to convince the judges that their product was the best.
From this day 12 students who demonstrated considerable team working skills were selected to take part in round two.

Round 2:

The students had five weeks to take on the role of an environmental consultant and research local green companies. They needed to present a poster of suggested products/systems that Science Oxford should include, were it to build a new building. As part of this challenge the students were matched to a mentor and required to meet them once to discuss the project.

Six students presented their posters at the Oxford Brookes University Science Bazaar on the 20th of March. The standard was extremely high, with students putting a lot of research and though into their suggested products. From this day three students were asked to compete in the final round.
Jenny McWhirter, Elisabeth Cook and Matt Tomkins were asked to research biofuels – as this is the main research area of Oxford Catalysts where the work placement will take place. They were required to present at the finals, three types of biofuel, and then select one as the best, ensuring to justify their answer. All students exceeded the expectations of the judges, and the audience were very impressed with the level of detail and confidence in the students.

Jenny McWhirter was awarded the title of Science Oxford Apprentice and will carry out her two week work placement over the summer holiday.

Contact

The Science Oxford Apprentice will be taking place again early next year. It is open for students aged 16-19. For further information please contact: Natasha Verniquet 01865 810012 or e-mail natasha.verniquet@scienceoxford.com