The technological power of the written word
30 November 2009
I have just been introduced to a new scheme aimed at promoting technology to the younger generations...
...And it's something we could all chip in with, in a low key sort of a way.
The company behind this scheme is Bosch, a company who only generate about a quarter of its revenue from its familiar ranges of consumer goods - over half of its €45 billion revenue comes from its automotive sector. The most curious thing about Bosch is that it is 92% owned by the Robert Bosch Stiftung (foundation) – a charity with set objectives in science, technology, education, culture and international relations. All of which seems miles away from the big business self-interest that has plagued the headlines over recent years.
The reason for my meeting with them was the launch of this year’s Bosch Technology Horizons Award 2010, which essentially is an essay competition for 14 – 24 year olds. Unusually for such a competition, the prizes, which go up to £1000, go to the individuals rather than the school or college that puts them forward. Dr. Peter Fouquet, President of Bosch in the UK, commented: “The Bosch Technology Horizons Award encourages young people to think about engineering and technology that inspires them and perhaps for the first time to think about how they can be instrumental in turning ideas into reality. The competition is just one small example of how Bosch promotes innovation in everything that it does, from designing the quietest power tools or garden equipment that prevent repetitive strain injury to more efficient washing machines, domestic boilers or hydraulic systems for wind turbines. Bosch technology is all around us and to keep moving forward we need to unearth the young innovators of tomorrow.”
Technology being all around us knits neatly into the theme for the competition this year, which is ‘Is engineering and technology essential for future development?’ Top prize is £1000 in the 19-24 year old category for a 750-word essay, while the 14-18 year olds can win up to £700 for a 500-word article. This year’s competition has started already and closes on 22nd March 2010.
Last year there were 550 entries and around 40% of these were girls, which either reinforces the stereotype that girls are more likely to be interested in writing, or it contradicts the stereotype that they are not going to be interested in technology. The overall winner was female.
The reason for bringing this competition to your attention is that I think initiatives such as this can only be to the benefit of the science and engineering industries in this country. Anything that encourages young people to stop and think about what is happening in the technological world around them has got to be a step in the right direction, and maybe entering this competition could start some young people down a path towards science or engineering in further education. Or maybe unleash the imagination of students or recent graduates who have already chosen this career path.
The truth is that not many people who are likely to enter this competition will be reading this newsletter – not first hand anyway. And this is where you, our regular readers, come in. Most of us will know someone in the relevant age bracket (in fact some of you lucky ones will still be in it, just) but it is more likely that we have children, or know someone who has children. Around half of the entries from last year did not come through any educational establishment, so you can only assume that they came from families with children that were encouraged by an adult, probably who had an interest in technology.
And that is where we can all pitch in. Encouraging youth is something we can all try and do. As someone who works in a youth club, I know that the balance between encouragement and preaching can be crossed far quicker than you might think, and as soon as you have crossed that line then you have lost your target audience! But it shouldn’t stop us from trying – so try I will and maybe I can encourage one young person to imagine how technolcogy may impact our future. It might impact on his or her future as well.
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