PA Consulting has announced the winners of its fourth Raspberry Pi coding competition, an annual challenge that aims to encourage children to further pursue science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects.

Groups of children from schools across the country sought to create a project that would solve a real-world problem – using a Raspberry Pi. This year’s challenge was to invent projects that would drive innovation in the sports and leisure sector.

The competition was set up four years ago to make sure the next generation is passionate about innovation, and to highlight the often overlooked soft skills that are needed in a technology job, said Anita Chandraker, head of the digital service team at PA Consulting Group and chair of the competition’s judging panel.

“Young people need to learn to code, but we’ve also seen and learnt that teamwork is equally important,” she said. “We have seen teams where some children are into engineering, some into coding and others are great at marketing. It’s this teamwork which creates fantastic inventions.”

Tackling the Stem skills gap Many people believe Stem careers have a negative stereotype, and too few role models in entry-level positions has been blamed for a lack of young people, and girls in particular, seeking careers in these areas. As part of PA Consulting’s competition day, entrants were given the opportunity to take part in a “speed networking” session with business leaders and people from industry, allowing the children to find out more about Stem careers. Sarah Maskell, wing commander and diversity and inclusion advocate for the Royal Airforce, said taking part in the speed networking exercise allowed her to showcase Stem-related jobs in her sector and break down the stereotypes surrounding them. She said it was “critical” to make sure the Royal Airforce was seen as an employer of choice in the eyes of the next generation. “In my own organisation, the Royal Airforce, 50% of jobs are Stem related, so recognising that there’s a talent deficit in the Stem environment in the UK, especially for women, is absolutely critical,” said Maskell. “We need to make sure we get this talent to work for us, but also make sure there’s a pipeline so that when these boys and girls who are currently in primary school or junior school move on to the secondary environment, they understand the route to working in these professions or industries.” Maskell talked to the children about tackling challenges and problem solving, and highlighted how some of the skills they use in day-to-day tasks can be applied to wider projects. She said a lot of the children involved in the competition day had taken away a fresh view of how the processes they went through in developing their Raspberry Pi initiatives were equivalent to business issues.