Last year’s Young Engineer for Britain, Robert Thorpe, won the award for designing a set of hand shears for people with disabilities. The Engineering Council and Young Engineers clubs are now inviting young people as individuals or in teams of up to four to enter by March 31 for the 1998 competition. Top prize is pound;2,500 plus a trophy, with a further pound;2,500 going to the school to provide engineering equipment. Details from Young Engineers for Britain, Engineering Council, 10 Maltravers Street, London WC2R 3ER.

A communications system for scuba divers, a domestic iron safety device, a talking electronic map of the London Underground for the blind and a wrist-worn device to alert the deaf to smoke and intruder alarms, telephones and door bells were among the winners of the 1997 Young Electronic Designer Awards. Entries are invited by March 2 for the 1998 awards with projects being completed in time for regional judging in April. Finalists’ projects will be displayed and judged at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, June 28-29, and cash prizes of up to pound;1,000 will be awarded in the following categories: senior (18 to 25), intermediate (15 to 17) and junior (under 15). Details: The YEDA Trust, 60 Lower Street, Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 2BW, tel: 01798 874767; e-mail: postmaster@ yeda.compulink.co.uk