Some of the brightest technology students have won awards for their work with local businesses.
The Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (Step) scheme offers work experience to penultimate-year students and allows them to make a contribution to their host companies, introducing new technologies.
Sussex agent Patsie Sutcliffe visited all participating firms and students in the county while running the scheme, which is supported by the Sussex Innovation Centre (Sinc).
Ms Sutcliffe is responsible for finding the local organisations and businesses to take part and sponsors to contribute towards the £165 a week salary students are paid during the eight-week placements.
Three judges, Paul Stoggles, of the Sussex Learning and Skills Council, Jerry Hammett, of Shell Marine Products, and Neil Gershon, the registrar of Sussex University, had to decide who would go through to the South-East regional finals.
First place went to Jack Orman, who attended school in Brighton before studying mechanical engineering at Imperial College, London.
He was placed with electronic sensing specialists Sensatech, based in the Brighton Business Centre, Ditchling Road, to carry out research into sensors for springs.
Mr Orman was sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which made a £400 contribution towards his wages.
He goes forward to the next stage of the electronic engineering section of the competition.
Sensatech's research director Tom Bach said he had made a "tremendous contribution" to the business.
He said: "He designed a new system for measuring springs, which we could patent were it not so expensive.
"Instead we will keep it under wraps.
"I've been working on electronically measuring springs for about 12 years but Jack tried a lot of things I hadn't the nerve to do."
Mr Bach said Sensatech would definitely take part in the scheme again.
Second place went to Kemi Adegoke, also sponsored by the DTI to carry out a software development project for the Sinc-based engineering company Elektro Magnetix.
Ms Adegoke is at Sussex University studying for a degree in computer systems engineering.
Third place went to Geoffrey Swayne, who is reading business studies at Swansea University.
He was placed with Sinc, where he carried out a databasing project.
He was sponsored by Sussex University, which paid a third of his wages.
Both Ms Adegoke and Mr Swayne will go through to the South-East regional finals of the competition.
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