Land Rover 4x4 In Schools programme inspiring teenagers

TOMORROW’S ENGINEERS are learning to code self-driving vehicles of the future today thanks to the unique Land Rover 4x4 in Schools programme.

Self-driving cars will require an estimated one billion lines of computer code, which is staggering when you learn that’s almost 1000 times more than the 145,000 lines required by NASA to land Apollo 11 on the moon. To meet the growing need for more coders to deliver these future autonomous and connected vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover is looking to inspire the next generation of software engineers.

This year more than 120 talented future engineers from schools in 20 countries met in the West Midlands for the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge world finals, and it was the Newgen Motors team from Greece who came out on top overall after performing consistently throughout the intensive twoday competition.

Each team of students, aged 13 to 19, was tasked with computer coding a miniature, remote-controlled Range Rover Evoque they designed and built to take on the 5.7 metre course and a number of off-road challenges – with prizes also given out for completing the course in the fastest time and for presenting their design and engineering feats to a panel of judges.

“Computer engineering and software skills are more important than ever in the rapidly-changing automotive industry, and that will only increase as we see more autonomous, connected and electric vehicles on the roads. The UK will need 1.2 million more people with specialist digital skills by 2022, and as a technology company, it’s our job to help inspire and develop the next generation of technically curious and pioneering digital engineers. The Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge is just one of the ways we are doing this, as well as our new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme we are launching this year.” Nick Rogers, Executive Director, Product Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover.