Every year, the Newnham Essay Prize is awarded by Newnham College, University of Cambridge.
Female Year 12 students are allowed to choose from a select set of essay questions in several categories. The prize is always highly competitive and attracts the brightest young students.
We are delighted to announce that this year, Liberty (Year 12) won first prize in the Engineering category.
The Engineering Essay Prize is intended to encourage students to think creatively about how their scientific knowledge gained at school might be applied in later life, particularly within the industry. The prize also aims to recognise the achievements of exceptional students and encourage more young women to study Engineering at University.
This is a huge achievement and a superb recognition of Liberty’s talent. She will be attending a virtual awards ceremony at 3pm on Saturday 4th July.
“I just found out I have been awarded First Place in the Newnham College Cambridge Engineering Essay Prize! I really enjoyed writing my essay on mitigating climate change through different modes of transportation and so I’m really pleased, especially as I can combine this with my Arkwright Scholarship on my UCAS form.
I am ecstatic about getting first prize, as it felt very unexpected since I know there is a lot of competition. The essay involved writing 2,500 words on a choice of two very broad questions. Inspired by work experience at the Oxford University Energy and Power Group where I researched into renewable energy solutions, as well as work experience with AMG Petronas F1 team, I chose the question ‘What can engineers do to mitigate climate change?’.
I focused on the problems and solutions about decarbonising transportation in particular electric vehicles as well as other potential solutions such as hydrogen power, and the systemic changes that would then have to be made to accompany the adoption of these technologies.” – Liberty (Year 12).