Loughborough College students completing the country’s first ever post-16 Space Engineering course have been celebrated at a glittering ceremony marking their achievements.
The 2019 Space Engineering Awards recognised students on the pioneering programme established by Loughborough College in association with the National Space Academy, whose alumni include national Engineering Student of the Year winner James Brown; Jessica Bains, who received a full scholarship to study for a Masters degree at the University of South Florida and Nigel Grainger, who won a place with top aerospace company Airbus.
Loughborough College CEO John Doherty said: “This event, hosted by the magnificent National Space Centre, gave us the chance to formally recognise the achievements and dedication of our incredible Space Engineering students and it was fantastic to celebrate with them – alongside the team of wonderful teachers on the course, including our programme lead Dr Zoe Washington.
“Not only is the teaching and project work on our pioneering collaboration with the National Space Academy outstanding but firmly established links to the space sector mean this course also offers our students access to some amazing enrichment activities.
“These have included meeting Princess Anne to discuss opportunities for female engineers, talking to British astronaut Tim Peake during the first live broadcast from his mission on the International Space Station, touring the national space research facility and hearing from the Principal of NASA’s Kepler exoplanets mission.”
Ahead of trophies for outstanding commitment and academic achievement, nominees Abigail Burton, Jack Sawford and Oliver Johnson lined up for the Space Engineering Ambassador Award. Paying tribute, Dr Zoe Washington said all three nominees had “gone out of their way to promote the programme”, the winner had “always been the first to volunteer”, could be “relied upon to be enthusiastic, confident, knowledgeable, and informative about the course, space careers and current space activities” and their enthusiasm for the course “simply cannot be quelled. Whenever they have attended, open evenings, taster events, trips or media events they have always been the model of professionalism and commitment” including when talking to Princess Anne. Announcing Abigail Burton as the winner, Dr Washington said she was “truly deserving” of the Space Engineering Ambassador Award.
Abigail was once again amongst the nominees for the Outstanding Commitment to Study Award, alongside Connor Keany and James Lacey. The winner was described as “consistently demonstrating a natural curiosity into how things work” which, when “combined with a desire to succeed and a commitment to making progress, this natural ability has meant they have shown the same consistency across all the subjects. Even when things have been difficult, it is this consistent effort …that makes for a very deserving winner.” Andrew McMurray, National Space Academy lead educator, then awarded the trophy to Connor Keany.
Presenting the coveted George Fraser Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement, John Holt from the University of Leicester’s Space Research Centre highlighted nominees James and Connor alongside Callum Kennedy. The winner was praised as “a real character” and “one of the brightest and most knowledgeable students we have had the pleasure to teach – both in the class and outside. Constantly asking questions and striving to improve not only their grades but their understanding of the subject. Their depth of knowledge is immense and it is this desire to look beyond purely ‘getting the correct answer’ and strive to deepen their knowledge that sets the winner apart” - before being announced as James Lacey.