Bedford student takes runner up prize in The Big Bang Competition

A student from Bedford has been awarded the runner up prize in the junior science category in the finals of the national Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Competition.

Alishba Khalid, a year 9 student from Bedford Girls' School scooped the prize for her project, ChlamyHEALTH, which researches cheap treatment plan alternatives for patients suffering with Cardiovascular Disease.

As part of the project, Alishba evaluated current forms of treatment for patients suffering with Cardiovascular Disease and researched the efficiency of emergency heart blockage removal surgeries.

She wanted to find a cheap treatment plan that had minimal side effects and was sustainable; she found that she could use electricity and algal proteins to help promote healthy recovery from surgery and remove blockages in the arteries leading to Cardiovascular Disease.

Alishba reached the UK finals of The Competition having won a place in the regional Big Bang fair heats.

Hilary Leevers, chief executive of EngineeringUK, which organises The Big Bang Competition, said: "The judges have been blown away by the quality of entries from all the finalists – not only for their brilliant new ideas but for how eloquently they spoke about them in their videos that were submitted.

"We’ve also been really impressed with all of the students for their passion and resilience in taking part this year in spite of the hugely challenging circumstances, including some students being in self-isolation during the process.

"Huge congratulations to Alishba whose innovative project has seen her awarded as the junior runner up in the science category of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition.

“It certainly bodes well for the future that the scientists, engineers and inventors of tomorrow are already producing such astute and creative project work – congratulations to all those involved.”

Over 300 young people from across the country were selected to be finalists of The Big Bang Competition, an annual contest designed to recognise and reward young people's achievements in all areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), as well as helping them build skills and confidence in project-based work.

The finals usually take place at The Big Bang Fair each March but when that was cancelled in light of the coronavirus, the team at the Big Bang Fair asked finalists to submit a video presentation from which 50 STEM professionals with specialisms across a range of areas including astronomy, antimicrobials, health monitoring, underwater acoustics and toxicology identified the winners.

The pupils win £250 in prize money to continue on their STEM journey as well as a trophy and certificate.

Previous winners have gone on to enjoy a range of other achievements on the back of their successes – including getting backing from businesses for their projects, and taking part in conference presentations to industry professionals as well as appearing on the television and radio shows to talk about their project.