Blogs

The event will see students from 10 different schools from Bournemouth to Andover and Gosport taking part in a fun fuelled day of STEM activities. The event will be run by the QinetiQ Haslar STEM community, supported by the Early Careers team.

The event aims to give the children valuable STEM and career experience by challenging them to design, engineer, build and test their own powerboat ready for competition. The children from each of the schools will then pilot their radio controlled powerboats through a course laid out on the surface of Haslar’s Ocean Basin – competing against each other as part of a round robin style event. The course will test the hydrodynamic design of each boat, giving the students hands-on experience of the different factors that dictate a vessels speed, stability, and manoeuvrability.

Throughout the day the students will be encouraged to speak with staff, VIPs and industry representatives who are experienced professionals and happy to share their knowledge and expertise with the participants.

At QinetiQ we understand the pivotal role that STEM plays in shaping the future of our industry and we are dedicated to ensuring we pave the way for the next generation to explore science and technology.

The Powerboat Challenge follows on from our other recent successful STEM days at Haslar. In August we hosted the Sea Scouts for a day and in September we held one of the first Maritime Roadshow for girls, a day aimed at connecting professionals to students and encouraging young girls to explore their curiosity in the marine and maritime industry. By engaging with school children in STEM education, we aim to cultivate a pipeline of skilled individuals who want to contribute to science and technology sectors in the future for many years to come.