A south Kent technology company is engineering futures for young scientists.

An all female group of pupils from Dane Court Grammar School in Broadstairs entered the KM Bright Spark Awards with a project developed for ITL. As part of the company's Engineering Education Scheme, the pupils were asked to develop a data logging device to measure temperature accuracy.

During the scheme, the pupils had to pass through a number of phases. These included: a company induction day; a scheme induction day; project development; a two day regional workshop at the University of Kent. and a celebration and assessment day.

The team had six months to complete the project, which concluded with a technical report compiled by the pupils, which they then presented to a panel of practising engineers. Because of the quality of the work, ITL then nominated the team for a KM Bright Spark Award.

Team member Maya Thyssen said of the scheme: "We learnt a lot! Initially we had to split the team into disciplines based on our strengths and weaknesses and assign a project manager."

Fellow team member Gowri Satish added: "It was very realistic to experience working to a deadline in order to solve a real-life problem that ITL was facing"

As a result of the scheme and the awards, two of the pupils said that they are now considering a career in engineering.

The KM Bright Spark Awards 2017 are now open for nominations. Students are encouraged to collaborate in teams using cross-curricular skills in maths, IT, science and engineering to innovate and create. They show off their work to a panel of industry experts at a Dragons' Den style event with the winning group receiving a cheque for £500.

The KM Bright Spark Awards are open to primary and secondary school teams. Event dragons include representatives from Pfizer, ITL, Benenden Hospital Trust, Prendon Panels, Hectic Lifestlyes, Golding Homes, Discovery Park and BAE Systems.

To find out more visit www.kmcharityteam.co.uk.