In October 2011, Year 12 student Nyalie was awarded a prestigious Arkwright Scholarship for aspiring leaders in engineering and design. Nyalie received her award at a formal ceremony hosted by The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London.

Following a gruelling selection process which involved an assessed application form, two hour aptitude paper and interview, Nyalie was informed of her success in getting through the process and receiving one of 298 scholarships awarded in 2011. During the interview, Nyalie had to present her GCSE project work – an S-shaped, spinning desk tidy with chalkboard - to a panel of interviewers and discuss her commitment to design, engineering and technology.

‘In the written test, I had to design a golf buggy to pick up golf balls. This included a diagram of the invention and explanation of how it would work mechanically. As part of the interview, I had to analyse the interior design of the Harlequin Centre in Watford, highlighting its strengths, in terms of function and looks, but also say how I would improve it,’ said Nyalie.

Arkwright scholarships support young people, who show the potential to be industry’s future leaders in engineering and design, through their sixth form studies and encourage the students to study engineering or related areas of design at university. The scholars receive monetary awards to help them with the cost of materials, but also gain access to a range of enrichment activities such as mentoring and industry visits, that enhance the scholar’s understanding of engineering and the world of work. They also carry the status as ‘Arkwright Scholar’ into university. The schools of the winners also receive £200 for the next 2 years to help provide design materials to support learning at their institution.

When asked where her interest in design came from and her plans for the future, Nyalie stated, ‘My parents are both in fashion design and our holidays often revolve around design; looking at architecture, furniture and interior design in places like Italy and India. In the future, I would like to work either in interior architecture or product design because I love creating what I can only at first see in my head.’

The scholarships are provided by a range of commercial companies, professional institutions, trade associations, charitable trusts and individual donors, some of whom, as in Nyalie’s case, choose to remain anonymous.