A team of teenagers from Royal Grammar School Worcester have been working with Worcester Bosch, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of heating products, on a project to introduce greener materials into appliance packaging.
Tristan Robinson, Megan Wang, Harry Nelson, Olly Madzarevic and Rees Bonham, Lower Sixth, are taking part in the Engineering Education Scheme (EES), a six-month co-curricular programme designed to give young people insights into engineering careers. The results of their work were displayed and judged at an event at Cranmore Park Solihull, on Thursday 2 May, together with the work of 70 teams from schools across the Midlands, who have been working on different projects with a wide variety of companies.
Under the guidance of mentors from Worcester Bosch, the RGS Worcester team employed a decision matrix approach to evaluate several alternatives to the existing polystyrene packaging. While polystyrene is an effective material, it is harmful to the environment, unsustainably sourced from fossil fuel hydrocarbons and unfeasible to recycle in the industrial quantities produced by waste packaging. After evaluating the various options for alternative packaging, Hexacomb cardboard was chosen for prototype testing, proving to be as effective as the existing polystyrene, while possessing advantages in cost, functionality, and environmental impact.
Ario Bagheri, Worcester Bosch Product Reliability Engineer and EES Mentor, said: “The team worked very well together, defining tasks that needed to be completed and aligning those with the overall project deadlines. The result is an imaginative, but applicable, greener packaging concept that will be tested further by Worcester Bosch and stands a very real chance of replacing conventional polystyrene packaging in the future.”
David Hunt, Manufacturing Director at Worcester Bosch said: “As an organisation, Bosch is founded upon technical innovation and excellence, exciting and empowering the next generation of engineers is both a responsibility and an opportunity. The Engineering Education Scheme (EES) enables us to engage with prospective engineers in an environment in which they are guided and mentored through real world technical challenges. Giving young people a glimpse of the dynamic and varied potential of a career in engineering”
RGS pupil, Rees Bonham says, “Being part of the EES team has taught me not to hold back on ideas during a discussion, as any option suggested may be looked into further. This will be helpful for the future in business meetings and general contribution to a company or team. Time management is also key to success, something I have learned over time by planning ahead. It is also a contributing factor to having a thriving career.”
Charlotte Daniell, Physics teacher and EES Co-ordinator at RGS Worcester, says: “Having participated in the Engineering Education Scheme for a number of years, we have found it to be an invaluable experience for those considering Science and Engineering courses in the future. The pupils have the opportunity to see the whole engineering process from research into initial ideas, to making prototypes, testing and evaluating. Our thanks go to Worcester Bosch for providing this excellent experience. The team from RGS Worcester have shown excellent teamwork, great enthusiasm, and commitment to the whole process, and have produced a project of which to be proud. I am delighted to see young Engineers of the future at RGS.”
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