A secondary school student from High Wycombe was invited to the House of Lords to meet several Members of Parliament as part of a huge nationwide project.

Vidyashri Karwa, who attends Wycombe High School, joined 20 other pupils from eight schools across the country in attending an event in Westminster as part of the Big Bang Competition.

 The contest celebrates young people's creativity and innovation in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

During the shindig, which took place in the last week of November, Vidyashri showcased her project ‘An AI Prototype to help with waste management across the globe’.

Inspired by the limited resources and the need to sustain the present generation without compromising the needs of the future, she aimed to address the impending threat of landfills and the time-consuming process of sorting and categorising waste to recover similar metals and materials for recycling and remelting, ultimately supporting production once again.

Vidyashri wanted to help reduce the labour and time-intensive work and questioned what if robots that are programmed with an AI sorting algorithm could help improve the way waste is managed and thrown away every year.

The teenager said: “It's been surreal - here I am in Parliament.

“I've met so many people who share similar interests to me and are interested in my project.

“I've really increased my passion for engineering.” 

Also delivering a speech, EngineeringUK Chief Executive, Dr Hilary Leevers, who thanked the students for attending.

She added: “Keep doing what you are doing - which includes your fantastic STEM work, but also your commitment to sharing your stories and enthusiasm with others, especially your fellow students.

“I would like to draw everyone’s attention to the nature of the projects that are here.

“You’ll see how incredibly purposeful and caring they all are - targeted at improving physical and mental health, environmental sustainability, and safety and accessibility.

“The fact that the students made these choices makes me feel so optimistic for the future, as much as the actual skills that we are seeing.”

Other prominent attendees included High Wycombe’s Emma Reynolds MP (Environment Secretary), Lucy Rigby MP (Economic Secretary to the Treasury), and Saqib Bhatti (Shadow Education Minister).

In total, there were 15 parliamentarians in attendance, with six of those having project teams from their constituencies.

Toby Perkins, Labour MP for Chesterfield, said: “Huge congratulations to all The Big Bang Competition entrants that are here today.

“I hope that passion for STEM that has been unleashed through this project will stay with you going forwards in your careers.”

Entries to The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition 2026 are now open.