The specifics of the space settlement’s location and its purpose are never the same, and you only find out on the day…

We competed in the digital heats, this was our first time competing in this competition. This caused us to experience new challenges that would not have been a problem at the in-person regional event, such as the difficulty of communication with other teams as everything had to be done online. 

After months of preparation, on Saturday 16th December, our team of twelve sat around our computers, using new software and meeting new people, and waited for the competition to start. We were assigned the fictional company “Da Vinci Meccanica”, with a mission brief to create a settlement on the moon. From 9 a.m to 5 p.m we joined countless calls in our different sub-teams, trying to work together to create a coherent presentation of a feasible idea. Everyone at Da Vinci Meccanica worked superbly together with constant communication for every minute we were given by the organisers. We were extremely proud to have 4 people from the Judd team in management positions, more than any other school, even though we were less experienced, with special mention to Oscar (Vice President of Marketing), Frederic (Head of Human), Jake (Head of Operations), Isaac (Head of Mission Systems) and Leo (Head of Business). This meant that our presentation was primarily lead by Judd team members, with lots of our team’s praised by the judges specifically aimed at Judd members’ contributions. 

We were the last team of the 6 competing to present, forcing us to feel the pressure build as we saw how strong the competition was. The judges took considerably longer than usual to decide on a winner (which they said was due to the high level of all of the presentations).

Finally, after 11 hours of anticipation, Da Vinci Meccanica were crowned the winners, allowing all members of the team (including all Judd members) to be able to go to Imperial College London in March for the national competition! 

The level of competition will be significantly higher at nationals, with every competitor having to have won at least one regional competition, but with certain schools having won consistently since the competition’s creation. If we are able to do well at the national competition, there is an international competition in July/August at the Kennedy Space Centre, which would be an amazing opportunity for the Judd School!