The University is partnering with the charity Engineers in Business Fellowship (EIBF), who have provided the prize fund, for the new business ideas competition. It is aimed to encourage engineering students to participate and reward those who create the most imaginative solutions to real problems.

Students participating in the competition will be asked to develop an innovative solution for security locks in the automotive industry. The winners will also be able to participate in the Champion of Champion annual final competition hosted by the EIBF to compete for a £15,000 prize pot and other prizes.

Dr Salman Saeidlou, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical/Material Engineering, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity funded by the Engineering in Business Fellowship. It offers the students a great opportunity to develop their engineering technical skills, and will inspire the next generation of engineers to tackle and solve real problems, making a positive impact on our world and local communities.

“Scientists and engineers over the years have worked to produce innovative products which have been useful in our daily lives, to say the least. Some of the most important global challenges we face in the world today are not just technical challenges but require the ability to link technologies to an understanding of the market mechanism, business skills and entrepreneurial commercial thinking. Competitions like this this help to underline the important role that engineers have in creating innovations that change the world for the better and inspire the next generation of pioneers.”

Canterbury Christ Church University is one of only a handful of universities in the UK to offer the pioneering CDIO international engineering education model. It was developed by the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in collaboration with business which takes a problem-based, creative approach to addressing real world issues.

The EIBF competition will form a CDIO project for students, working with a real industry partner that calls for the application of theory in practice, to develop novel engineering products. Students will need to conceive, design, implement and operate an innovative lock mechanism for the automotive industry. The project aims to provide an innovative real industrial problem that challenges engineering students to consider engineering design, engineering materials, manufacturing, standard components, fixes and fittings, and tolerance considerations in their projects.

Students interested in taking part should contact Dr Saeidlou.