On Wednesday 28 May, Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) Training hosted the winners of this year’s Designathon from New College Lanarkshire to bring their innovative concept to life.
Designathon, held in February 2025, challenged learners to solve real-world design and engineering problems. The winning team impressed judges with a creative and feasible solution demonstrating genuine real-world impact.
The team visited MTC in Coventry, one of the UK’s leading centres for advanced manufacturing and prototyping, to transform their concept into a working prototype. Working alongside engineers, CAD specialists and manufacturing experts, they refined their designs and developed production-ready models, gaining invaluable hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology.
Each learner designed a robotic grabber, a precision tool for picking and placing, using advanced CAD software. Throughout the day, learners saw their designs come to life, explored the 3D printing process from slicing to production, learned how to programme robots to operate their grabbers, and gained insight into the future of engineering and automation.
This immersive experience gave learners a unique opportunity to engage with real-world work environments, enhancing their skills and deepening their understanding of additive manufacturing and robotics. It was inspiring to witness their creativity and innovation put to the test, highlighting the power of practical learning and skills development.
Many thanks to MTC for helping to make this opportunity possible.
Find out more about our benchmarking resources and events on our WorldSkills UK Learning Lab to help raise standards in technical and personal skills for higher grades, and prepare learners for industry and competitions.
