Pupils are encouraged to design gadgets for the We Made It competition

Students are being challenged to design a gadget or gizmo in a competition designed to encourage them to think about a career in manufacturing.

The gauntlet has been thrown down by David Evennett, the MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, who is running a new manufacturing competition – We Made It! – in his constituency.

He is urging secondary school pupils to get involved and the competition is open to students in Years 9, 10 and 11 who are being encouraged to submit designs and ideas for a gadget, gizmo, toy or tool they’d like to see made.

The Conservative MP will judge the entries produced by students in Bromley and the winner will be entered into a nation-wide competition judged by a group of organisations involved in manufacturing, including aircraft manufacturers Boeing, The Manufacturing Institute, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Finmeccanica, Renewable UK, the Confederation of Paper Industries and Lloyds Banking Group.

The best entries nationwide will be invited to a Fab Lab, facilities provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Manufacturing Institute, where their designs will be manufactured and brought to life.

Later this autumn, the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency winner will be invited to a reception and awards ceremony in Parliament and will have the opportunity to meet the heads of the manufacturing organisations involved in the project and learn how to take their career in manufacturing further, and receive an award.

Mr Evennett said: “I am delighted to be supporting this competition, and the campaign to raise awareness of careers in manufacturing. Britain is still a beacon for this industry and needs more young people to aspire to careers in it.”

The competition deadline is July 24.