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Last year, an incredible team of graduates and apprentices at our Glasgow site won the prestigious The Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal for bringing to life the “Face for a Plant”, an innovative plant pot prototype designed by a talented young student. Thales in the UK were proud to be the first industry partner to take on the challenge of developing a prototype from the Primary Engineer competition, "If you were an engineer what would you do?”. 

Fast forward to this year’s competition, and Thales in the UK is now working on not just one, but five prototypes across the UK. It all begins right here at our Glasgow site again. 

Just a few weeks ago, the Thales Glasgow ProtoTeam revealed their prototype of the chosen design at the University of Glasgow. The remarkable concept, a Solar Powered Heated Blanket, was the brilliant idea of a young student, who aspires to be an engineer. What made it so special? It came from a place of empathy and a genuine desire to make a difference for the homeless community. The blanket uses fold up solar panels to charge during the day so that it can heat up and keep people warm at night.

Volunteering and Mentoring

Running the project independently from start to finish to bring the design to life, the build enabled the team to use their Thales volunteering hours in a new and creative way, as well as share their knowledge and experience with a student from a local school.

Collectively, Thales employees have held 7 grading days for this year’s competition, assessing over 12 thousand designs submitted by primary school students from across the UK. Employees will also be participating in final judging panels and presenting awards to the regional competition winners.

ProtoTeams from our 6 main sites are now working to transform the winning designs into fully functioning prototypes. These prototypes will then be presented back to the designers at the regional award ceremonies.

The Thales Prototypes

The Thales Templecombe ProtoTeam have developed a prototype of the ‘Walkie Frame’, taking the form of an adjustable walking frame with a holder for walking sticks. The design came from the heart; it was inspired by the student’s grandmother who can’t use her walking frame in small spaces. The prototype was unveiled in Jersey in the presence of the King’s official representative.

Our ProtoTeam in Crawley have developed a ground-breaking product that could bridge the communication gap for children with hearing loss. ‘Sign Right’ is an AI based product that translates sign language into written text, a concept thought up by a budding young engineer. The ProtoTeam also created three tablet cases from the student’s design, using a new 3D printing technique.

At our Belfast site, the Thales team has been working together to bring the ‘Smart Tap’ prototype to life. The ‘Smart Tap’ was designed by a young student who was inspired by the Smart Meters that are used to monitor and manage energy usage. This clever concept could support households in monitoring their water usage and keeping costs down.

The Thales team in Cheadle selected the “Tap of Germs” prototype as their winner, designed by a young engineer to address the fact that 97% of people don’t wash their hands properly. The Thales team developed and built the prototype, using image recognition software and UV light to track the hand-washing process and highlight areas that haven’t been washed properly. The team loved the originality and functionality of the idea in solving an everyday problem.

Driving Technological Innovation

Our partnership with Primary Engineer is driving progress and innovation at Thales. This year, we have seen the development of new and innovative technologies through the production of the prototypes; one Thales team has been exploring material jetting capabilities, a cutting-edge printing method. This technology has been developed in collaboration with wider Thales colleagues, with a view to incorporating it into our existing product lines in the future.

Inspiring Engineers

Primary Engineer actively works to bring engineering into the heart of the classroom, supporting our objective to make Engineering more accessible. We are proud to continue our National Partnership for the second consecutive year. Their initiatives foster diverse young talent and promote engineering as an exciting and promising career pathway.

Through Primary Engineer, the Thales in the UK ProtoTeams are also given the opportunity to explore concepts outside of their traditional product lines. Often made up of our Graduates and Apprentices, the ProtoTeams gain valuable experience beyond their daily responsibilities. Independently managing and executing the projects, they develop key skills such as project management and product ownership.

We are proud to make a lasting impact through this partnership. The UK-wide Primary Engineer encourages students to engage with real-world challenges. By bringing student’s winning designs to life as tangible prototypes, we are fostering a culture of innovation and inspiring the next generation of engineers to shape a brighter future.

You can find out more information on Primary Engineer