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Year 9 boys used artificial intelligence to help them design a sustainable bus for London during a special day at Salesforce’s new AI Innovation Centre.

The 27 pupils took part in a workshop, learned about careers in AI, and discussed the ethics of the technology during their trip to the American software giant’s facility at Devonshire Square, opened only a few weeks ago.

One of the highlights was a team challenge to design the sustainable bus – an exercise which gave the boys hands-on insights into how AI can be used creatively to solve real-world problems.

Assistant Head James Kane (Destinations & Progress), who leads the QE Futures careers and universities guidance programme, said: “It seems especially appropriate to celebrate this exciting opportunity during Youth Employment Week.

“Artificial Intelligence will undoubtedly form part of all our futures, and there is so much to be learned. Whether it was finding out how to write effective AI prompts or getting to grips with the ethical considerations, the conversations on this very special day provided valuable guidance for QE pupils growing up in an increasingly AI-driven world.

“We are sincerely grateful to Neil Sanghrajka, parent of a Year 8 QE student, for kindly facilitating this fantastic opportunity,” Mr Kane added.

The pupils discovered how Salesforce, a $186 billion company known for its customer relationship management software and related applications, uses AI to enhance the services it provides to its clients.

The day explored the effective and responsible use of artificial intelligence.

During the lunch break, students explored a range of innovative AI technologies, including a machine that created portraits from photographs and an AI-powered LEGO set that demonstrated interactive learning through artificial intelligence.

The visit concluded with an AI careers Q&A session, where the boys had the opportunity to ask questions. The panel included two degree apprentices, who shared their experiences and highlighted alternative and increasingly popular pathways into the technology sector after sixth form. QE’s pupils were particularly interested in the role of AI in education, and the panel emphasised that AI should be used to support learning and develop understanding, rather than replace independent thinking.

Sixth-former Devansh Jha has won first prize in his age group in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow technology competition.

His concept, The Green Cross, is a handheld medical device that scans wounds to monitor their healing. As well as featuring on national radio, Devansh’s winning idea will be showcased on the iconic Piccadilly Circus screens. His prizes include an exclusive London work experience placement from Samsung, and some of the technology giant’s own products.

Competing alongside him was fellow finalist Sparsh Shrivastava, of Year 8. Year 11’s Ishan Jakkulwar reached the semi-finals.

The competition challenges young people to create ‘tech for good’ – solutions that benefit society by addressing real-world issues.

Head of Technology Bilaal Khan said: “We are tremendously proud of Devansh. He was up against 1,000 other ideas and 2,184 fellow competitors, so this is a very considerable achievement.

“By so successfully harnessing technology for the public good, he is amply demonstrating at least three of the six priorities in our Boundless School Plan: he is future-ready, community-orientated and a leader of influence & valued collaborator.”

Devansh’s idea, The Green Cross, supports more accurate remote wound assessment, helping clinicians make better treatment decisions, while reducing the need for follow-up appointments. He was mentored by Samsung Product Manager Jordan Roberts.

For his entry, Sparsh was supported by his Brilliant Bob 10 team – Dhruv Srinath and Aadit Shukla, who, like him, are in Year 8.  His idea is called GrowGuard – an adaptive operating system that ‘grows’ with young people to help keep them safer online as they get older.

Just nine finalists pitched their ideas in the final at Samsung’s King’s Cross HQ. The event, which was managed by educational agency Hark, featured speakers including Mete Coban, Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy, as well as Samsung UK’s President, Ben Yoon.

Speaking after he took the top prize in the 16–18 age category, Devansh said: “It was a really eye-opening experience – I got to talk to so many people about how I could design something to make their life better. I had no experience in med tech before, but, with the people around me, I really wanted to solve a problem that mattered. This experience reinforced something I’ve become increasingly passionate about: technology is most powerful when it’s used to solve real, human problems.

“I’ve learned how to present, how to sell an idea, and to put myself out there – things I hadn’t done before.

“My advice to anyone thinking of entering next year: just go for it. As long as you have a genuine passion for it, you are good enough. It’s a really fulfilling experience, and if it doesn’t work out, it’s okay – it’s a learning process.”

Ishan, with his Flux team, was one of 24 semi-finalists. He took part in a rapid prototyping workshop led by technology charity Tech She Can.

QE’s robotics competitors start the Summer Term fighting fit, with six teams qualifying for the Vex World Championships in the US later this month.

After battling it out at the national championships in Telford, three senior V5 teams won places at the ‘Worlds’ in St Louis, Missouri, with a further three making the grade in the junior IQ competition.

In a busy Spring Term for robotics, a Year 12 team also took their own trip across the Atlantic, travelling to Calgary, Canada, where they were the only team from outside North America among 81 teams competing at the Mecha Mayhem event.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Qualification for the World Championships requires huge levels of preparation, skill, design flair and teamwork, so our teams deserve hearty congratulations: we wish them all the best in St Louis.”

The three qualifying senior teams all acquitted themselves well at Telford, with Team Nova taking an Innovate award and Rogue winning a Think award, while Zenith were fourth in the Skills competition and came fifth in their division.

Six VEX IQ teams from Years 8 and 9 travelled to the national championships, joining two days of competition with teams from all over the UK. Each team competed in 12 qualification matches, with the hope of gaining a spot in their division’s finals.

The competition involved frequent working in alliances with other teams. The QE competitors’ collaborative skills, resilience and problem-solving duly won them a clutch of awards.

Team Omega won the coveted overall Design Award and claimed their slot in Missouri.

The other Worlds places went to GearSquad and CircuitBreakers, whose clever solutions to the competition game devised for this year’s national championships won them both an Innovation Award.

In addition, there was a Think Award for Torque Titans – an independent team of QE pupils who had decided to compete in VEX outside of School – and an Amaze Award, with a place at the Worlds, for a mixed team comprising students from various schools, including QE.

Darsh Singh, of Year 8, said: “I found the Nationals an extremely joyful and unforgettable competition. We all made loads of friends and it was an experience like no other.”

This was a sentiment shared by Yaer 9’s Akshaj Mittal, who added: “VEX isn’t about just winning. It’s about teamwork, friendship, resilience and courage, and our team embodied just that…”

The Canada competition was attended by team HYBRID. In recent years, QE Year 12 teams, who are unable to go to the Worlds because of examination commitments in the Summer Term, have joined a series of special robotics events in North America.

At Mecha Mayhem, with HYBRID the only non-American team, its pit area rapidly became a favourite place for others to visit.

The team finished day 1 with a win in their practice match and one win and loss in their first two qualification matches. On day two, they ranked 42nd in a competitive field. Competing in the Skills competition on the final day, they came in 19th place out of 74, thus hitting their target of a top-20 finish.

They also found time to relax and explore a little. They enjoyed a thrilling game of NHL Ice Hockey, the final match for many players before the winter Olympic break, where the Calgary Flames upset the odds by beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3. At Calgary Zoo, they saw native species including Canadian mountain goats, bison, musk oxen and wolves. They took a trip to the Calgary Tower, followed by a visit to an escape room where they not only beat the time limit but escaped only just short of the record time. They also enjoyed the Downtown Calgary district, with its picturesque Jack & Jean Leslie Riverwalk.

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In a two-day residential workshop at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, six Industrial Cadets from QE enjoyed some very privileged access.

The two Year 12 Engineering teams not only had the opportunity to study at the internationally renowned Dyson Centre for Industrial Design, but also to use specialist equipment that even Cambridge Engineering students are not allowed to touch at first.

The teams, who are both working with major companies to develop products to safeguard the health of construction workers, went to Cambridge for the workshop organised by the Engineering Development Trust (EDT) as part of its Industrial Cadets Gold Project scheme.

QE has a long record of success with projects developed through EDT programmes, with past teams frequently singled out for praise by industry experts.

Technology teacher Tony Green, who accompanied the sixth-formers, said: “The Industrial Cadets Gold Project Workshop introduces young people to an exciting programme that offers a unique experience bringing together university study and industry.

“For our students, having the opportunity to study at the Dyson centre and to use tools and machinery that Cambridge undergrads don’t get to use until later on in their course was a real coup.”

During the workshop, the boys were challenged to solve a real-world problem set by industry partners, giving them first-hand exposure to STEM careers, university life and business thinking.

One of the QE pupils, Abhinav Sandeep, said: “We had an extremely rewarding two days at Cambridge and we’re very grateful for the opportunity! The fact that we were able to interact with a machine that only late-year Cambridge undergraduates and PhD students could use was sublime.”

One QE team is working with Overbury plc, the UK’s leading fit-out specialist, which has challenged the boys to develop a passive wearable aid for construction workers that mitigates the onset of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs).

The other has joined with Morgan Lovell plc, a leading company in the design and building construction of commercial buildings, to work on a prototype for a wearable hearing protection device that alerts construction workers to hazardous noise exposure, thus reducing the risk of long-term hearing damage.

Both companies are represented by QE’s industry sponsor, Mr Alex Wood, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager at Morgan Lovell.

Abhinav, who is part of Team OVERBURY, praised the breadth of facilities that was made available to them as they built their device: “We used everything from sewing machines to soldering kits… We also benefitted from the variety of working spaces, such as the workshop for production and the library for data analysis.”

Team OVERBURY comprises the following QE Year 12 students: Dan Ji Chan, Abhinav Sandeep and Kavish Jayasekera.

Team MORGAN LOVELL is: Ayush Saha, Zane Shah and Haadi Siddiqui.

Sixth-formers saw up-to-the-minute manufacturing technology on a visit to one of Britain’s most famous car factories.

The first QE trip of its kind to the historic Mini Plant Oxford provided a look behind the scenes at how advanced manufacturing processes, automation, and teamwork are combined on a single production line.

The Year 13 pupils also learned about the history of the iconic Mini, from the 1960s classic car through to today’s newer version, first produced in 2001.

QE’s Head of Technology Bilaal Khan said: “It was an outstanding experience for the students, allowing them to see the theories and concepts they have been studying brought to life in a real industrial setting. The trip not only deepened their understanding, but also inspired many of them to think more broadly about future careers in engineering, technology, and design.”

The plant on the Oxford ring road was the car body manufacturing business of the Pressed Steel Company, founded in 1926. It became part of the huge Morris Motors – later British Leyland and then Rover Group – site at Cowley, which incorporated three factories. Today only the Mini plant remains.

The original Mini became an icon of the 1960s, featuring in the 1969 film caper, The Italian Job. Its role was reprised by the modern Mini in a 2003 remake of the film.

BMW bought the Rover Group in 1994. The new Mini was first unveiled as a concept car in 1997. When BMW sold the other parts of the Rover Group in 2000, it retained the rights to the Mini.

After an initial tour during which they learned about the history of the iconic car, the pupils were shown around the factory.

Among the group was Danyal Talha, of Year 13, who said: “We witnessed a clear progression in the design styles of the cars, with evident links to design movements and ideas of the time.

“The factory tour then took us through one of the most advanced flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) in the world. FMS allows for various specifications of a product to be produced on a single line, and we witnessed this, with endless variations of Minis being made: from cabriolets to hard-tops, left and right-hand drives, with customised-to-order body colours and wheel alloys.”

They delved into details of the manufacturing process such as the ‘Prüfcubing process’, used to evaluate the fit, function and development of parts before a model launch. The boys saw a Prüfcubing body – a life-size model of a car body with a tolerance of +/- 0.2mm that was manufactured from solid aluminium, taking 2,000 hours to machine and worth some 1m Euros.

The group also saw automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in use. These are portable robots which, unlike autonomous robots, rely for their navigation on infrastructure in their environment, such as lines or wires on the floor, radio waves, or lasers.

“While we had already learned about AGVs in our theory lessons, getting to see them communicate with one another and work seamlessly to optimise the production line’s efficiency was fascinating,” said Danyal.

“Overall, the trip was a fabulous insight to real-world flexible manufacturing systems, and taught us about the evolving nature of production lines becoming fully automated.”

Year 13’s Muhammad Shah has won The Big Bang UK Young Technologist of the Year title for 2025.

His winning project, Icarus, is a decentralised telecommunication system designed for low-cost and effective emergency communications in remote areas: it was inspired by his love of the outdoors and of trekking.

Muhammad was one of 11 QE pupils to reach the finals of The Big Bang Competition.

Mark Wood, Social Sustainability Lead at sponsor Siemens GB&I, said: “Muhammad stood out with his decentralised communication system, which avoids reliance on cellular or satellite networks and has great opportunities for search and rescue, leisure and other business uses.

“Muhammad demonstrated independent learning and great communication and presentation skills and is a worthy winner of the prize!”

The Big Bang Competition, run by the EngineeringUK charity,  is open to young people in the UK aged 11-18 who are in state-funded education, are home-educated or who enter as part of a community group.

The Big Bang UK Young Technologist of the Year award recognises innovation in digital and sustainable technology. It highlights the importance of technology in various sectors, including search and rescue, leisure, and business.

Muhammad describes himself as an aspiring engineer who enjoys 3D printing, CAD modelling, printed circuit board (PCB) design and other electronics.

His project was inspired by the communication difficulties people experience in remote areas, and particularly by the need for better communication when people out trekking get into difficulty. Its decentralised approach avoids reliance on cellular or satellite networks.

With Muhammad unable to attend the Big Bang Fair at Birmingham’s NEC because of an A-level examination, the prize was instead presented at the School’s Technology Design Showcase by EngineeringUK’s Director of Communications, Beth Elgood, and Siemens’ General Manager and UK Country Lead, Hannah Winstanley. The two also agreed to serve on the judging panel at the QE event.

Tech spec: how Muhammad solved the problem

Icarus uses a custom Meshtastic PCB based on ESP32-S3 N8R8, L76K GPS and LoRa RA-01SH, designed to be fully assembled by the online PCB service provider, JLCPCB.

Meshtastic is a decentralised, off-grid network that lets users send and receive messages using affordable, low-power devices. Icarus also makes use of LoRa, a long-range radio protocol, which is widely accessible in most regions without the need for additional licences or certifications (unlike HAM radio). These radios are designed to rebroadcast messages they receive, forming a network. This setup ensures that every group member, including those at the furthest distance, can receive messages.