Case Study: The Benchbed Journey – Turning a Pupil’s Idea into a Gold Medal Reality
Introduction
The University of Edinburgh, School of Engineering, has previously partnered with Primary Engineer helping deliver outreach to schools, teachers and pupils across the east of Scotland.
Through the Leaders Award competition and The Primary Engineer Programmes, the University engaged with thousands of local children. Their involvement as a Primary Engineer® ProtoTeam saw them bring a pupil’s engineering idea to life. This case study explores how previously working with Primary Engineer helped the School of Engineering expand their reach to more schools within the local area.
Why were they involved?
Dr Katie Grant, Outreach and Widening Participation Manager at the School of Engineering, oversaw the ProtoTeam programme and worked closely with the Primary Engineer team.
“We have previously partnered with Primary Engineer because we really truly believe in why they do what they do. Research shows that kids have decided by age 11 if they can or can’t do something, so we think that the mission of Primary Engineer to get engineering into schools is so important, especially as engineering isn’t really part of the core curriculum yet.”
Katie’s comment is further supported by the 2023 Science Education Tracker, produced by Royal Society and Engineering Uk, which showed that there has been a decline in interest across science and engineering among young people.
This is why a core part of Primary Engineer® ProtoTeams is furthering the engagement between schools, pupils and our university and industry partners. From the tens of thousands of pupils who answer the question “If you were an engineer, what would you do?”, selected ideas go from paper to reality, in a journey of pure innovation. Students, technicians, graduates and apprentices incorporate the prototype into their studies and career development.
What has the experience been like?
When reflecting on the experience of the staff involved and from a university perspective, Katie said
“Our technicians get a lot out of it, they love taking part and seeing the positive impact it has had on the school they work with and the child who has come up with the invention, then seeing the creation come to reality. It challenges them in their own design capacities whilst showcasing what they can do, and gives staff the opportunity to engage with and explain technical concepts to a school pupil which is a great way to improve communication skills. The staff involved were able to use their own creativeness to figure out how to make Libby’s idea come to life”
“My experience of working on the prototype has been brilliant. It has been great to see a design from the judging panel I was involved with go from pictures on a page to a fully working prototype!”
Primary Engineer facilitates connections between companies and schools, fostering local brand awareness and demystifying the engineering profession and, in The University of Edinburgh’s case, working together helped break down barriers about higher education and showcased what the university has to offer in terms of facilities and capabilities.
“Through the prototype, we have been able to engage with pupils and their schools which means we can deliver outreach activities to more children. We not only engage with the ProtoPupil but also the whole class, it shows them from a young age that their ideas are important, and they matter.” said Katie.
Pupil Designer, Libby, was one of these pupils who actively engaged with the team of technicians at The University who were working with her to bring her engineering idea, the Benchbed, to life. Her creation is a bench by day but can become a bed by night, folding down to become a bed with walls surrounding it making it a warm environment for homeless people to sleep in. The design has been praised for its social impact, practicality, and real-world potential.
When asked how she felt that her idea has been chosen and was being made into a prototype she said
“ I think it’s really cool because I didn’t expect to be chosen and I think it’s a really good opportunity because hopefully it’ll get made and be able to help lots of people. I’ve been able to come to the University and I’ve been able to help with making it. And I think it’s just been really fun.”
When asked about her future career aspirations Libby mentioned being either an engineer or a fashion designer, maybe even merging the two, which is certainly possible with so much of engineering being cross-curricular and cross disciplinary.
“We engaged a lot with Libby throughout the year. She joined us for an initial design meeting where the teamed proposed various ideas to her about how they could create her prototype, this gave the team the chance to meet Libby and her the chance to see how the development process works. We also asked for her approval before we made any changes! She even got involved with soldering some of the components that ended up in the BenchBed, she was a natural at it. We also visited Libby’s primary school to run engineering workshops and Libby attended an assembly with us to hand out awards as part of a design challenge we ran to engage more with her school.” said Katie.
The Benchbed prototype was officially unveiled at our Scotland South East regional award ceremony on 28th May 2025 and was a memorable moment for all involved.
When asked about a highlight, Katie said
“I think it was seeing Libby’s face at the final reveal, and the way she never stopped smiling throughout! It was also great to see how proud her whole family were of her achievement.”
After the unveiling in the 2025 summer term, applications for the Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal opened and the University of Edinburgh ProtoTeam, including Libby and her school were thrilled to be shortlisted and invited to the prestigious Drapers’ Hall in London for the Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal award ceremony in November 2025.
The Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal acts as the forerunner to the illustrious MacRobert Award, the leading prize for engineering innovation in the UK. The Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal is designed to celebrate the achievements of the school pupils, students and young engineers who have all worked together to create innovative and world-changing prototypes based on a school pupil’s engineering idea. The Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal Award Ceremony is a collaboration between Primary Engineer and The MacRobert Trust, with support from Weir and Christopher Ward.
Libby’s family attended the event and were proud of her invention being recognised as a Gold Medalist.
The university unfortunately couldn’t attend but shared the excited of winning Gold.
“The team and Libby worked so hard throughout the year to not only bring the prototype to life but to engage with her community and the young people in it.”
Conclusion
Receiving these medals was a testament to the dedication and passion of the School of Engineering’s technical and outreach teams, and also showcased the huge potential of young minds. The Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal serves as a reminder that fostering the spirit of engineering in the younger generation can lead to truly creative and original solutions.
Get involved
Follow the story: Read all of the updates about ‘The Bench Bed’ prototype here.
Share your experience: Huge thank you to the University of Edinburgh for sharing these valuable insights. If you have worked with us and want to share your experiences, contact us on marketing@Primaryengineer.com
Learn more: If you want to learn more about how we deliver impactful outreach the Primary Engineer way, speak to us today.