A student from Broxburn has been crowned UK Young Engineer of the Year at The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition.
Held at The Big Bang Fair, the awards ceremony followed a day-long showcase of young innovators.
The Big Bang Competition, run by EngineeringUK, is a national competition for young engineers, scientists and technologists aged 11-18.
Kanav Jain from Broxburn took the UK Young Engineer of the Year accolade, supported by Thales, for his project ‘AeroAid: autonomous VTOL quadplane’. Kanav is currently in S4 and entered via a community group called First Step Robotics.
He was inspired to help people in rural and remote regions where the delivery of essential emergency supplies is challenging due to lack of reliable road access. Using his passion for drones, he designed and developed a small, low-cost autonomous aircraft that can carry and deliver medicines and other supplies quickly and efficiently.
Kanav said, “It’s so surreal! The moment they say your name you completely zone out…because of how much effort you put into it, and to see all of that come to life is really great!”
James Mackay, head of STEM, UK at Thales, added, “Congratulations to The Big Bang UK Young Engineer of the Year. We were delighted to see the creativity and impressive STEM skills from all the finalists. Kanav’s project really impressed the judges, along with his tenacity, dedication and drive.
“Supporting these future engineers is truly exciting for us at Thales. The Competition is a great reminder that the next big breakthrough could come from anyone. We need many more young people to pursue STEM careers. It’s been great to see so many students thinking about how they can innovate and create real-world solutions with engineering.”
To find out more and discover all the winners and runners-up of The Big Bang Competition 2026 visit: www.thebigbang.org.uk/competition-winners
