The end of the UK academic year proved to be a memorable one for 22 talented young people in the West Midlands, who were all awarded for their excellent work in Enzen's Mission Sustainability programme.
Now in its second year and launched to coincide with British Science Week in March, Mission: Sustainability saw Enzen knowledge practitioners share their energy and water expertise with school pupils aged 8 to 14 as part of their science learning modules, then set them challenges based on protecting our planet for future generations.
In an online awards ceremony hosted by Louise Carter, Enzen's Head of People and Culture in the UK, and with a special guest appearance from Manish Jamthe, CEO of Enzen UK, we announced the first, second, third and highly commended winners in four challenges, plus the overall Best of the Best which saw cash prizes awarded to the top four schools.
The biggest and best yet
All themed on ensuring water sustainability around the world, the Mission: Sustainability challenges were broken down into four categories: Creativity, Design, Essay Writing and Innovation.
The challenges tested the skills of more than 400 pupils from 15 schools in Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry and Redditch. Working individually and in teams, they collectively produced more than 250 entries, which were judged by the Enzen UK leadership team.
"It's about equipping them with the knowledge to create solutions themselves"
The quality of submissions and sheer number of pupils and schools involved made this year's Mission: Sustainability the biggest and best yet – and Enzen UK CEO Manish Jamthe is now looking forward to building on the momentum in 2022.
"Congratulations to all our brilliant finalists," said Manish. "We created Mission: Sustainability to inspire the next generation to bring their own creativity and talent to tackle the huge challenges facing our planet.
"It's not about telling them what to do – it's about equipping them with the knowledge to create solutions themselves. Ultimately, they will be the ones who can help shape the future of our world and lead the cause of sustainable development.
"We now want to engage more schools across the region next year and inspire more talented young people to make a positive difference."
Louise Carter added: "Our judges were hugely impressed by the passion, dedication and innovation shown by the finalists. Thank you to all of them for making this year's Mission: Sustainability such an enjoyable and memorable event."
The names of all finalists are listed below, and you can watch the awards ceremony in full here:
The Winners
Best of the Best
- 1st Place: Benjamin, Shanish and Oliver W from Colmers School
- 2nd Place: Oliver P from St. Peter's Catholic Primary School
- Joint 3rd Place: Kiera from Our Lady and St. Rose of Lima Catholic Primary School and Olivia from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School
Creativity Challenge
(Producing a piece of creative work encouraging people to save water)
- 1st Place: Kiera from Our Lady and St. Rose of Lima Catholic Primary School
- 2nd Place: Anwen from St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School
- 3rd Place: Katherine from St. Peter's Catholic Primary School
- Highly Commended: Abbie from St. Peter's Catholic Primary School
Design Challenge
(Designing an innovative farm using water and renewables)
- 1st Place: Benjamin, Shanish and Oliver from Colmers School
- 2nd Place: Vivian, Siyuan and Hiral from Colmers School
- 3rd Place: Josh, Harrison, Joel and Lucas from Colmers School
- Highly Commended: Dan Manish from King Edwards Five Ways
Essay Challenge
(Writing an essay on how we can protect the world's water resources)
- 1st Place: Olivia from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School
- 2nd Place: Zhehan from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School
- 3rd Place: Kirstie from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School
- Highly Commended: Ava from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School
Innovation Challenge
(Designing an innovation to save water)
- 1st Place: Oliver from St. Peter's Catholic Primary School
- 2nd Place: Harry from St. Peter's Catholic Primary School
- 3rd Place: Hannah from St. Peter's Catholic Primary School
Mission: Sustainability is the first programme of its kind to be launched under Enzen Community Partnerships. This initiative is focused on sharing Enzen’s knowledge and passion for positive change in our local communities, helping build a more sustainable, prosperous world for this and future generations.
Look out for more on Mission: Sustainability in 2022, as we seek to broaden the programme to more schools across the West Midlands and deepen our relationship with the region, which is home to Enzen's corporate headquarters.