The names of the six finalists who will attend the final stage of the 2012 Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award have been announced.
The ‘Dragons Den’ style judging day on 7 November will see finalists present their ideas to judges from Autocar, Courland International, Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren Automotive, Peugeot, Skoda, SMMT and Toyota GB.
The finalists are:
- Ross Hannah from Bath University with an “automotive lifting system”
- Jonathan Maynard from Brunel University with a “cooled EGR discharge”
- Edward Bannister from Coventry University with an “acceleration actuated electronic forced aspiration”
- Niall McCann from Bath University with an “interactive traffic management system”
- Roberto Antonio Pace from Kingston University with a “cylindrical brake system”
- James Benson from Huddersfield University with a “car theft prevention system”
After the final judging day, the three top scoring finalists will be invited to the SMMT annual dinner on 27 November, where the winner will be announced.
Autocar publisher Alastair Lewis said, “The 2012 contest has seen an unprecedented number of high quality entries from university students countrywide. The first and second round judges faced an extremely difficult task in carrying out their evaluations.”
This year’s winner will be rewarded with a priceless work experience package comprising one month at each of the contest sponsors, Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren Automotive, Peugeot, Skoda and Toyota, as well as £7,500 cash.
To enter the competition students needed to answer a brief set by Autocar Editor-in-Chief Steve Cropley. Entrants had to explain an invention, innovation, legislative change or a change to corporate policy that would be a worthwhile benefit to the UK automotive business.
The contest was launched in 2009 to offer entrants a unique chance to kick-start an automotive industry career and is run by Autocar in partnership with Courland International and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The 2012 award is backed by Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren Automotive, Peugeot, Skoda and Toyota.
