The gold medal winners at the the WorldSkills 2012 competition were Newcastle Team 1 – Emily O'Regan and Matthew Otubu – pictured with Prospect NEC member Nigel Titchen at the medal ceremony on November 17.

Silver winners were Newcastle Team 2 – Reece Pringle and Sam Thompson and the Bronze Winners were Leigh Jackson and Stuart Moore from Mid Kent College. (Pictures of all the medallists are available from the contact below.)

Six teams from the UK had to design a recovery plan for an imaginary island community in the aftermath of an earthquake and a longer-term sustainable energy solution. They also had to build a renewable energy generator and present a report to judges justifying their solution and winning over members of the local community.

The competition was organised by the scientists' union Prospect in partnership with the British Geological Survey and supported by Semta Sector Skills Council and the Tec Trust Fund. The National Skills Academy for Power ran a series of 'have a go' activities throughout the competition, attracting large crowds of students of all ages.

Nigel Titchen, himself an environmental scientist, said: "It was an honour to present the medals for this year's competition winners. All the teams worked under pressure to a very high standard to showcase knowledge and skills that will be key to future economic and societal well-being."

Sue Ferns, head of research at Prospect, added: "Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world. It is essential to attract skilled and motivated young scientists to work in this vital area. Prospect is proud to have played a part in raising awareness of the opportunities that exist for them to make a difference. We wish them all success in the future."

This year's competition final took place at The Skills Show, at Birmingham's NEC from November 15-17.

Photographs of the winning teams are available. Contact Katherine Beirne at Prospect for images: [email protected]