On the 11th April, the North West (NW) branch, in conjunction with the YGN, held the Young Person’s Speaking Competition regional final, with all the finalists delivering an engaging technical presentation.
The annual regional competition, organised and run by the NW Branch, gives the younger members of the nuclear industry a chance to practice their public speaking skills and compete for the first prize of £300 and a place in the national final.To enter the event, budding speakers are asked to submit a 200 word synopsis proposing a talk topic. All synopses are reviewed by an independent panel, with six being chosen to present this year.
The judges for the evening were Margaret Murphy (Lucid Capability), Donna Causon (Wood PLC and NW Branch Co-Chair) and last year’s winner of the NW regional final, John Bintu (NNL).
James Gath, from National Nuclear Laboratory, gave the winning presentation with his technical talk entitled ‘Coated Particle Fuels: The Gobstoppers of the Nuclear World’. This presentation gave an insight into the concept of coated particle fuels and the resultant strong, durable structures. The judges praised James for his quirky presentation and his ease of explaining the process, comparing it to a well-known, and much loved, childhood sweet. James Gath will now go forward to represent the North West in the YGN Speaking Competition national final that will be held in September.