Powering Futures Live 2026 hosted over 2,000 students from more than 100 schools, who spent a year tackling real-world industry challenges, leading to presentation of their final solutions, as part of their SCQF Level 6 Powering Futures Challenge qualification. CeNZ-HighDB are delighted to have been represented in Hampden Park by Dr Sam Ahmadzadeh, from Thematic Working Group II. He wrote an account of his time as a panellist for us, as below:
“I had the opportunity to attend the Powering Futures Live event at Hampden Park as part of an industry panel, where we heard presentations from schools who had spent the year developing solutions to engineering challenges.
Having been involved in the programme throughout the year, including supporting a school with their sessions and sharing my own experience to help students prepare, it was great to see the final stage come together. Although the school I worked with wasn’t able to attend the final presentations, it was clear just how much effort and thought all of the students had put into their projects.
On the day, each group presented their ideas and talked through how they approached the challenge, before taking questions from the panel. Our role was to explore their thinking further, asking how they developed their solutions, how they worked as a team, and what they had learned. We also provided structured feedback and scoring, which will contribute to their final assessment and awards.
What stood out most was the confidence and enthusiasm of the students. Beyond the presentations, there were plenty of conversations throughout the day, with students asking about career paths, how to get into the industry, and what opportunities are available to them.
It was also a great chance to see Hampden Park and to speak with others involved in the programme.
I’d be more than happy to be involved again.”