An engineering student from the School of Engineering has been declared the overall UK winner at the prestigious Sir William Siemens Medal awards.
Jan Van Der Lubbe, who is currently in the second year of a Mechanical Engineering degree, was presented with his medal and a cheque for £1,000 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.
Jan’s submission included how he would benefit from an internship at Siemens and his detailed company knowledge.
Siemens deemed his submission to be the best due to not only his all-round exceptional academic ability, but also his clearly demonstrable passion for engineering.
Jan, who previously attended De Aston School in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, said: “It’s a great honour to win the award for both myself and the University of Lincoln. Now with the constant support and training from Siemens, I can work with others who strive to solve the most challenging problems with excellent, innovative and responsible solutions.”
Jan was joined by eight young engineers from other leading UK universities (Cambridge, Imperial, Newcastle, Loughborough, Newcastle, Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Strathclyde) who were also recognised as being the most outstanding students in their year.
They all received the Sir William Siemens Medal, specially designed and struck by The Royal Mint, and a paid internship with Siemens.
Andrew Hislop, a second year student from Lincoln, was also shortlisted.
On the students’ success Michael Gallimore, Director of Education at Lincoln’s School of Engineering, said: “This is a remarkable achievement for Jan and the School of Engineering. Being recognised as the best student from among these leading universities is fantastic and a real testament to Jan’s hard work and enthusiasm for engineering. The School of Engineering was founded with a commitment to producing industry ready graduates and Jan’s success is recognition of the impact this ethos is having on the development of our future engineers.”
In addition, students from 10 colleges and university technical colleges were also rewarded for their achievements in their engineering studies with the Sir William Siemens Certificate award, as well as a cheque for £100, with their college being awarded £200 to invest in STEM activities.
Siemens has a long-standing association with many of the UK’s leading higher and further education establishments, including the University of Lincoln. Its UK university partnering programme represents a major part of its commitment to the UK engineering skills agenda. Collaboration ranges from joint research programmes, to providing industry placements as an integral part of education programmes, to recognising and rewarding undergraduate excellence as the Sir William Siemens Medal Award does.
Juergen Maier, Siemens UK CEO, said: “At Siemens in the UK we are investing heavily in skills and training and we have a strong commitment to working with universities and colleges, to recruit top graduate engineering talent. Through the Sir William Siemens Medal and Certificate Awards we can work more closely with our target universities and colleges to encourage more students to take an interest in a career in engineering, to reward engineering excellence and to try to ensure that more of the world’s leading technology is developed within the UK.”