Innovation, determination, and compassion came together in an inspiring way as Year 13 student Aditya Sarkar recently achieved recognition through the internationally respected CREST Awards programme.
Aditya earned the award for designing and developing an attachable step ladder system aimed at helping individuals safely access higher vehicles — a project inspired by a deeply personal motivation: supporting his mother with mobility challenges.
“The aim for the project was to help my mother get across the car step by creating an attachable step ladder that you can put on and then extend,” Aditya explained.
The engineering project combined creativity, practical problem-solving, and technical design skills. Built using planks and foldable components, the prototype was carefully designed to assist people who experience difficulty with elevation or climbing into taller vehicles. “This is just to aid people who have issues going through any elevation,” he said.
Turning Inspiration into Innovation
What began as a personal engineering challenge quickly evolved into a meaningful innovation project. Aditya initially developed the concept as a way to strengthen his university applications and gain real-world engineering experience.
“This project was made by me for the purpose of building my CV for university,” he shared. “It was mainly testing our skills in design and our application in engineering. It’s like a mini engineering project that symbolises what you do in university.”
Throughout the process, Aditya worked closely with his father, who also has an engineering background. “He helped me plan the materials and sort of the nitty-gritty stuff that I didn’t know too much about,” Aditya said. “He helped with the design, the material choice, and the fine tuning.”
The project also received valuable guidance from school staff, particularly Mr. Elliott Sarkodie-Addo, who supported Aditya with material selection and design considerations.
“He helped me a lot with the choice of material and the size of the design,” Aditya noted.
Competing on an International Level
After researching opportunities with friends, Aditya discovered the CREST Awards, a UK-based programme that recognises student achievement in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).
To qualify for the award, students must complete a detailed project process and submit a comprehensive report documenting every stage of development.
“You had to write a report based on all the steps that you had to do for this,” Aditya explained.
The award is known for its competitive standards and emphasis on independent learning, innovation, and practical application.
A Rewarding Achievement
Receiving the Gold award marked the culmination of months of hard work, planning, testing, and documentation.
“I felt very fulfilled because it took a lot of time doing the report and just thinking of the entire project itself,” Aditya said. “The award is very competitive to get, so I felt very happy.”
Aditya’s success reflects not only academic excellence but also the values of empathy, initiative, and perseverance. His achievement serves as an inspiring example of how students can use engineering and innovation to create practical solutions that improve everyday life.
The school community congratulates Aditya Sarkar on this outstanding accomplishment and looks forward to seeing what he achieves next in his engineering journey.
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