Inspire Scholar and civil engineering student Christopher Matthews this week collected a top national prize, worth £1,500 from ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry.

The Cambridge undergraduate beat off stiff competition to be crowned winner of this year’s Inspire competition, which gives some of the brightest new talent in the industry the opportunity to explore how they would convince young people to embark on a career in construction.

Christopher’s entry was a storyboard showing how his profession helped bring two star-crossed lovers together by building High Speed One, enabling the pair to continue their cross-Channel romance.

Christopher was presented with his prize by ConstructionSkills Chief Executive Mark Farrar at a ceremony in central London.

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Mark Farrar, Chief Executive of ConstructionSkills, commented: "Christopher is a fine example of the sort of talent we have on our Inspire Scholarship Scheme. By putting companies in touch with the cream of the undergraduate crop, we take the hassle out of recruitment and ensure these graduates can begin making a difference as soon as they leave university. Our Inspire scholars show just the sort of passion and energy we need in our industry, particularly as we emerge from recession and face new and unique challenges, such as the low carbon agenda."

Christopher, who honed his passion for the industry whilst on placement in the bridge management and engineering teams at Jacobs UK said: "At Jacobs, I got involved in everything from old bridge repair inspection to designing new bridges from scratch. As an undergraduate, knowing that designs I’ve had an input into are going to be built is pretty phenomenal. It’s certainly not something the average university engineering student can say."

Asked about his competition entry, he added: "All too often people only think of the 'boring' side of construction and engineering, so I wanted to use my submission to show just how the construction industry can enhance the world we live in. Placing High Speed One at the heart of my story seemed like an obvious way of showing how the skills of our industry can make the seemingly impossible possible."

To find out more about Inspire Scholarships visit www.bconstructive.co.uk