More than 110 talented future software engineers from schools in 14 countries gathered at the University of Warwick for the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge world finals.

The bright engineers, aged 13 to 19, used computer coding to programme miniature remote-controlled four-wheel-drive vehicles they designed and built for a two-day competition. The vehicles negotiated a demanding course that wound its way over and through a Range Rover Evoque, replicating the off-road challenges facing a full-size all-terrain vehicle. The teams were asked to optimise an existing set of code so a model SUV could follow a pre-set course in the fastest possible time. They were scored on track performance and also presented their work and knowledge of vehicle design and engineering to a panel of judges. The coding competition was held in the National Automotive Innovation Centre and gave the students an inspirational preview of the facilities on offer.

NewGen Motors from Greece were crowned 2019 champions; with Vincera from Malaysia and Xtreme-K from Portugal in second and third places respectively.

Nick Rogers, Executive Director of Product Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “The Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Challenge is a fantastic way to bring together the top technically curious students from around the world. Competitions like this help to inspire innovation and technical excellence in the next generation of engineers, which will help us fill exciting future roles in software systems, connected cars, data science and autonomous driving. As engineers, it’s our duty to solve problems and find ways to make people’s lives better, and software and digital skills will help us to do more of this in the future. The coding and ‘ACES’ challenges in the competition demonstrate the importance of software innovation in our pioneering technology business.”

Vasilis Mesimeris, team manager of NextGen Motors, said: “The challenge has been an amazing experience and we’ve all strengthened our team working, coding and engineering skills. Our vehicle features a cantilever suspension system which kept the centre of gravity low and helped us perform well. We’ve all gained confidence and have been really inspired and would love to be engineers innovating and creating vehicles in the future.”

Luke Kwan participated in the 2018 UK National Final and successfully applied to the Jaguar Land Rover Degree Apprenticeship programme after the competition. Luke, who works in Body Engineering, said: “I was aware Jaguar Land Rover offered an excellent apprenticeship programme and I decided to enter the competition to learn more about the company. The support of our Jaguar Land Rover mentor through the project was really valuable and I gained and strengthened lots of skills, such as CADCAM and graphic design, which I use now in my job.”