Autocar – Courland Next Generation Award
Three UK students are today much closer to winning the coveted annual Autocar Next Generation award, a national competition that aims to identify, support and develop top automotive talent of the future.
The overall award will be announced to one of the three students at the awards presentation at the annual Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders dinner in London on the 22nd November. The much sought after prize comprises £7,500 prize money and 5-months work experience with the award sponsors – McLaren Automotive, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Peugeot and Skoda.
The three students were selected by the awards judges after presenting their automotive related idea at a Dragons’ Den-style judging day at Haymarket Publishing’s Teddington Studios.
Attending the awards dinner and hoping for success will be Callum Nash from Coventry University, Oliver Brunt from Northumbria University and Katie Jones from the University of Leeds.
| Name | University | Course | Home Town |
| Callum Nash | Coventry University | Transport and Product Design | Scarborough |
| Idea – The Opus – A new model for personal transport | |||
| Oliver Brunt | Northumbria University | Industrial Design | Scunthorpe |
| Idea – SHUD System – Social Heads Up Display | |||
| Katie L Jones | University of Leeds | Design and Colour Technology | Welwyn Garden City |
| Idea – Radiance – the next colour and trim design innovation |
From all the entries received, 12 candidates were selected and given the opportunity to attend an assessment day to present their idea to a panel of senior industry executives. The judges then selected 6 candidates to attend a Dragons’ Den style presentation session, from which 3 candidates were selected for the next stage – the awards presentation on the 22nd November in London.
Heading up the assessment panels Kevin Gaskell, Chairman, Courland Automotive Practice, said: “The three potential winners are great ambassadors for young people. They are incredibly enthusiastic, intelligent and have an amazing aptitude for how their idea can be integrated into the automotive business sector.”
The Next Generation Award offers entrants a unique chance to launch a coveted industry career and is run in partnership with Courland Automotive – the automotive people specialists – and the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders. The 2011 award is backed by McLaren Automotive, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Peugeot and Skoda.
The Brief – Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award 2011
Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award entries should be no more than 500 words long and written in English. They should also include images or illustrations, if relevant.
“Using your area of expertise, write a 500-word proposal suggesting some improvement (be it an invention, a legislative change, a change to corporate policy or the adoption of a new convention) which you believe would be a worthwhile benefit to the automotive business, on a small or large scale.”
| Award Partners/ Judges | McLaren Automotive | Judge | Neil Patterson, Chief Engineer |
| Toyota GB | Judge | Francesco Mereu, Director HR | |
| Skoda | Judge | Catherine Sleigh, Head of Press & PR | |
| Peugeot | Judge | Andrew Didlick, Director of Communications | |
| Mercedes-Benz Retail | Judge | Rachael Edwards, Senior HR Business Partner | |
| Courland (International) | Judge | Kevin Gaskell, Chairman | |
| Autocar | Judge | Steve Cropley. Editor in Chief | |
| SMMT | Judge | Paul Everitt, Chief Executive | |
| Supported by | The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) | ||
Previous Winners
| 2009 | Mohsin Basharmal | Coventry University |
| 2010 | Hari Meyyappan | Loughborough University |
| 2011 | ? | ? |
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