• More than 150 of the best young engineering minds from 16 countries compete at Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge world finals in Abu Dhabi
• Students use software coding to design and build miniature remote-controlled 4x4s
• Competition unearths future talent for Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading investor in research and development
• More than three million young people have taken part in Jaguar Land Rover's global education programme since 2000
• School team from Portugal wins 2017 prize, beating Malaysia and Australia
• Watch the video -

Whitley, UK, Thursday 14 December 2017 – More than 150 talented future software engineers from schools in 16 countries gathered in Abu Dhabi for the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge world finals.

The bright young engineers, aged 11-19, used computer coding to programme miniature remote-controlled four-wheel-drive vehicles they have designed and built for a two-day competition at the Yas Marina Circuit. One of the challenges saw the vehicles negotiate a demanding course that wound its way over and through Land Rover Discovery SUVs.

The contest, which supports curriculum learning, included an autonomous car coding challenge, reflecting Jaguar Land Rover's commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects and a desire to recruit the next generation of engineers to design and develop future electric, connected and autonomous vehicles. The surprise coding task required them to optimise an existing set of code to help a model SUV complete a pre-set course in the fastest possible time.

K-EVO from Portugal were crowned 2017 champions; with Panthera, Malaysia and Fair Dinkum 4x4, Australia in second and third places respectively.

Alex Heslop, Director of Electrical Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover, said: "I am hugely passionate about engineering and inspiring more young people to consider STEM careers. The Land Rover 4x4 in Schools competition will help us fill exciting future roles in software systems, cyber systems, app development and graphics performance. The new coding challenge is a great way to introduce young people to the importance of software innovation in our cutting-edge business."

Team leader Luís Ligeiro, aged 17, said: "The challenge has provided us with fantastic hands-on experience of running a mini-business and writing our own code. We were all interested in STEM before but now, after learning all about the Land Rover Discovery production processes and electronics, we'd love to be engineers innovating and creating vehicles in the future."

The global competition has helped the company reach more than three million young people since 2000. Teams qualify for the world finals through a series of regional and national events, with the winning team, K-EVO having come first in the Portuguese National Final.

The winning vehicle features multi-link suspension, replicating the Land Rover Discovery, and was made using natural, modern and recycled materials such as biopolymers, plastics and aluminium which were a key consideration in the judges' scoring.

The UK's leading investor in research and development, Jaguar Land Rover has launched a global initiative which aims to recruit more than 1,000 electronic and software engineers to its expanding business. In June this year, the company launched an innovative, mixed-reality recruitment app in collaboration with virtual band Gorillaz to find global future engineering talent.

For more information, or to find out more about working for Jaguar Land Rover, visit www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

RESULTS

About Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover is the UK's largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands: Land Rover, the world's leading manufacturer of premium all-wheel-drive vehicles; and Jaguar, one of the world's premier luxury sports saloon and sports car marques.

We employ almost 42,000 people globally and support around 240,000 more through our dealerships, suppliers and local businesses. Manufacturing is centred in the UK, with additional plants in China, Brazil, India and Slovakia.

At Jaguar Land Rover, we are driven by a desire to deliver class-leading vehicles, which will provide experiences our customers will love, for life. Our products are in demand around the globe. In 2016 Jaguar Land Rover sold more than 583,000 vehicles in 136 countries, with more than 80 per cent of our vehicles produced in the UK being sold abroad.

Our innovation is continuous: we will spend more than £4 billion in the coming year on new product creation and capital expenditure.

From 2020 all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers even more choice. We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles as well as continuing to offer ultra-clean petrol and diesel engines.

About K-EVO
K-EVO is a team composed of four students from Escola Secundaria de Ponte de Lima in the North of Portugal. The team participated in the challenge last year, coming second in the national finals and this year they achieved their goal of making it to the world finals.

The team is made up of Luis Ligeiro, 17, who is Team Leader; Hugo Oliveira, 17, Production Engineer; Diogo Cerqueira, 18, Resource Manager and Pedro Gomes, 19, Design Engineer and Graphic Designer, who was unfortunately unable to attend the competition due to illness.

For further information contact:

Kate Birkenhead
CSR PR and Communications, Jaguar Land Rover
E: kbirkenh@jaguarlandrover.com
James Scrimshaw
Product Public Affairs Manager, JLR Australia
E: jscrimsh@jaguarlandrover.com
Jessica Wen
PR Intern, JLR Australia
E: jwen1@partner.jaguarlandrover.com