Jaguar Land Rover prepares tomorrow’s engineers for the self-driving future through its Land Rover 4×4 in Schools programme

Jaguar Land Rover prepares tomorrow’s engineers for the self-driving future through its Land Rover 4×4 in Schools programme

(PRESS RELEASE) WHITLEY, 16-Apr-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — Jaguar Land Rover is looking to inspire the next generation of software coders and talents with its Land Rover 4×4 In Schools programme. Land Rover 4×4 in Schools programme gives tomorrow’s engineers the chance to learn to code self-driving vehicles of the future today.

Launched in 2006 in UK the Land Rover 4×4 in Schools Technology Challenge was taken globally in 2015 and is now active in 20 countries. Since its inception, more than 15,000 young people have joined the programme. The challenge has inspired many students in pursuing STEM careers in the automotive industry including former participants who have later on joined Jaguar Land Rover as undergraduates and apprentices.

Jaguar Land Rover’s Land Rover 4×4 in Schools programme helped the company reach more than four million young people since 2000. In the 2019’s Land Rover 4×4 In Schools Technology Challenge world finals some 110 students from 14 countries have qualified.  This year’s world finals were held at the University of Warwick where the NewGen Motors team from Greece won the trophy following two intensive days of competition.

According to Arm an estimated one billion lines of computer code is needed for self-driving cars, as compared to just the 145,000 lines required by NASA to land Apollo 11 on the moon in 1969 (LOC for Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC)).

Land Rover 4×4 In Schools programme is aimed at inspiring the next generation of software engineers in order to meet the growing need for more coders to deliver these future autonomous and connected vehicles.

During this year’s Land Rover 4×4 In Schools Technology Challenge world finals talented teenagers have written 200 lines of code in just 30 minutes, to successfully navigate a scale model Range Rover Evoque around a 5.7-meter circuit.

According to David Lakin, who is head of education from the IET, UK alone will require more than 1 million software engineers to fill the growing demand for skills like coding, software engineering or electronics. Here is what he said:

“We’re in the midst of a digital skills shortage – the UK alone requires more than 1 million software engineers to fill the growing demand for roles requiring a knowledge of coding, software engineering or electronics. Digital skills are vital to the economy, which is why the IET is proud to support initiatives like the Land Rover 4×4 In Schools Technology Challenge to ensure we inspire, inform and develop future engineers and encourage diversity across STEM subjects from a young age. If we are to safeguard jobs for the next generation, we must equip the workforce of the future with the skills they will need to engineer a better world.”

According to Evans Data Corporation there were 23 million software developers worldwide as of 2018 and this number is expected to to grow to 27.7 million by 2023. Furthermore, research from the World Economic Forum predicts some 65% of today’s students will end up working in jobs that don’t currently exist.

That’s why, Jaguar Land Rover is planning this year to launch a new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme aimed at attracting the best computer engineers to help code its next-generation electric, connected and autonomous vehicles and support the factories of the future.

According to Nick Rogers, Executive Director, Product Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, the rapidly changing automotive industry sees the computer engineering and software skills as more important than ever. He commented further:

“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 4×4 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.”

Mark Wemyss-Holdenformer, Teacher and Curriculum Content Developer:

“Coding is high on the agenda across industry and teachers do a fantastic job delivering the curriculum, but schools have competing priorities and are hamstrung by limited budgets and time. The private sector, and programmes like Land Rover 4×4 In Schools, have a real opportunity to bridge the gap between what learners enjoy studying and how that translates into a future career.”

Jaguar Land Rover is heavily investing in Global Pioneering Hubs around the world including centers already active in Shannon, Republic of Ireland; Budapest, Hungary and Portland, in the United States in order to maintain its leadership in the Autonomous, Connected, Electric and Shared (ACES) mobility services.

John Cormican, General Manager for Vehicle Engineering, Shannon:

“Shannon has an important role to play in realising the company’s vision for autonomous and connected vehicles, but we can not deliver this future without the very best minds – individuals who could write the next chapter for Jaguar Land Rover. It’s fantastic to see the company taking such an innovative approach towards investing in the next generation.”

SOURCE: Jaguar Land Rover