Winners of the “Junior.ING” Student Engineering Competition Announced

Around 6,000 students participated in the “Junior.ING” competition this year. On June 13, 2025, the winners of the nationwide youth competition organized by the engineering chambers in Germany were honored. This year’s task was to design and build a model of a “tower with a viewing platform.” For the second time, the German Association of Amusement Machinery & Accessory Manufacturers (VDV) also presented a special award as part of the annual student competition, which has been held since 2005 to promote young talent in technical professions.

Out of a total of 2,227 submitted models, the Federal Chamber of Engineers awarded the main prizes in the age categories up to grade 8 and from grade 9. The VDV selected the model “Sturmwarnung” (“Storm Warning”) by Julius Heidan as the winner in the category up to grade 8; in the category from grade 9 onwards, the tower “Gute Aussichten” (“Bright Prospects”) by Felix Pippig received the VDV’s special award.

Dr.-Ing. Michael Smida, Deputy Chairman of the VDV, congratulated the winners and expressed his belief that “free, imaginative design is the foundation for new ideas. This competition shows that playful, creative ideas can lead to viable and functional tower structures. New design and construction spark interest not only for viewers, but also for visitors to the viewing towers. Praising and acknowledging talents and skills preserves and increases the motivation to design new structures and, in the future, to realize them in practice.” And Prof. Dr.-Ing. Helmut Schmeitzner, board member of the Federal Chamber of Engineers, commented: “[...] The profession of civil engineering will become increasingly important, and the high level of participation in the ‘Junior.ING’ competition proves that this message has already reached our schools.”