South Wales students invited to design trophy for top engineering prize

Students from south Wales with a talent for art and design are being invited to enter a £5,000 competition to create a trophy to be presented to the winner of the inaugural Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.

The 'Create the Trophy' competition was launched in association with the Tate, Design Museum and Science Museum. Organisers are looking for "a design that represents the wonder of modern engineering" by someone aged 16-24, "with particular interest expected from those studying or working in art, design, fashion and technology, as well as those studying or working in engineering.

"The winning entry will reflect the creativity, power and importance of engineering so that the trophy is a symbol of the integral role the engineering profession plays in society."

Finalists will see their designs prototyped using state-of-the-art 3D printing. They will be invited to London to present their prototyped design in person to the panel of judges, which includes architect Dame Zaha Hadid; Director of the Tate Sir Nicholas Serota; Science Museum director Ian Blatchford; Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic; and design engineer Yewande Akinola.

The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering is a prestigious £1 million international award celebratuing global engineering excellence.

Head of the QE Prize trustees, Lord Browne of Madingley, said: "The aim of the Queen Elizabeth Prize is to celebrate global engineering excellence and it's absolutely vital that the trophy embodies all that is inspirational about engineering. It'll be quite a challenge for the UK's young designers but I'm sure they're up to the task."

Ian Blatchford, director of the Science Museum and former deputy director of the V&A, says: "Asking aspiring designers to create a trophy that will eventually be awarded to leading engineers is a clever cross-generation link epitomising the imaginative spirit of the prize."

The competition closes on 12 November 2012. For more details about the competition, including the rules and conditions and to submit entries, go to qeprize.org/trophy.