Students from the Isle of Man have been invited to travel to Silicon Valley in California to compete for a global entrepreneurial prize after their entries won them access to the final round of the competition. The Conrad Foundation’s Spirit of Innovation Awards have, for the first time, been extended to the Isle of Man thanks to a link-up with local space company ManSat Ltd. Eight students will compete in the USA after winning their places in the final round against 480 others around the world. After months of research, six teams of secondary school students submitted design and development plans for products they believed would solve challenges of living in the 21st century to the Conrad Foundation in the USA. Two teams focused on aerospace exploration, three on clean energy and one on cyber-security. After initial judging from a panel of global experts at the Conrad Foundation, three teams have made it through to the world final of the awards. The teams making the trip to the States are announced today as Kinergy from Queen Elizabeth II High School, Lennox Aerospace from Ballakermeen High School and Team Pe-U from St Ninian’s High School/Isle of Man College. ‘The students will travel to the Innovation Summit at NASA’s Ames Research Centre in April and represent the Isle of Man, competing against 24 teams from North America,’ said Ian Longshaw, School Improvement Adviser for the Manx Curriculum. Kinergy comprises Year 12 pupils Robbie Daniels, 17, Angus Hopkinson, 17, Andy Walker, 16, and Atif Chohan, 16, and their coach was Niall Howell-Evans, teacher of science, physics and maths. They designed a wristband capable of providing emergency power for a mobile device that is charged by the natural motion of the body. They said: ‘We are very excited about the opportunity that has been given to us. We all worked together really hard and we are very happy we have reached the final stage of the competition. We aim to keep the team spirit we have throughout the next few months.’ Luke Farrugia and Benjamin Chung, both 15, make up Lennox Aerospace. Their design was for a flatpack, space-assembled, multifunctional structure that can be made as big or as small as desired. They were coached by head of physics Russell Miller, who said all the credit lay with the boys. Luke said: ‘I'm very excited. This is a great opportunity because NASA is right at the heart of the aerospace industry.’ Ben added: ‘People joke about rocket science but it's what I want to do and I’m thrilled to have this chance.’ Team Pe-U is made up of Isle of Man College student Sizwe Mtshali, 18, and Liam Carter Hawkins, 18, who is in Year 13 at St Ninian’s High School. Liam was one of two Island students who made the trip to NASA space school in Houston, Texas, last summer thanks to an annual sponsorship scheme from ManSat. The pair’s idea was for an eco-friendly, biodegradable toilet designed for a cradle-to-cradle, clean energy-producing system. Their coach was Andrew Shipley, assistant head of science at St Ninian’s. They said: ‘We intend to take as much away from the experience as possible as it is yet another incredible opportunity. We are hoping the simplicity and multiple global benefits of our innovation are enough to win a Spirit of Innovation Award and to initialise and expand our company.’ ‘We are excited to host three teams from the Isle of Man at our Innovation Summit,’ said Nancy Conrad, Chairman of the Conrad Foundation. ‘These students have submitted outstanding proposals and we can hardly wait to meet them.’ Finalists will compete to receive a ‘Next Step Grant’ of $5000 and be recognized as Pete Conrad Scholars. The Next Step Grant will be shared by the schools, teachers and students to encourage the continued development of the teams’ products. ManSat, a global commercial space corporation which has its headquarters in the Isle of Man, has been mentoring the teams since they embarked on their challenge in October. Ian Jarritt, Isle of Man Director of ManSat, said: ‘This is a tremendous achievement for the Isle of Man entrants to have done so well against international competition. This award complements the Space School scholarships for our secondary school students that we and the Department of Education and Children have been sponsoring since 2001. ‘Our objective is to maintain the Isle of Man’s prominence within the commercial space arena and success such as this certainly serves to consolidate our position. My best wishes go to each of the teams for further success in the next round.’ Ends