Students Get Ahead in Engineering

From 4th to 7th January, 7 students from Handsworth Grammar School, gathered at the University of Wolverhampton, to attend a specially designed Engineering Experience residential course.  This free course forms part of a major initiative funded by the Department for Education, called Get Ahead with STEM!  In partnership with STEMNET and the WISE Campaign, The Smallpeice Trust ran the course to encourage students from hard to reach backgrounds and particularly girls to consider engineering as a possible career in the future.

Over the four days, the pupils had the opportunity to learn about engineering through a series of presentations and practical exercises.  Working in teams, they tackled ‘real-life’ challenges on projects designed and facilitated by young engineers from industry.  These organisations included First Group plc, Jackson Civil Engineering and the Royal Navy.  Projects included designing and building a war ship, building a model train and building a bridge capable of withstanding a certain amount of weight.  As well as working on the design, build and test elements of the projects, they developed life skills such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, time management, finance and presentation.

Kevin O’Neill, Senior Education Officer for the Get Ahead With STEM! project commented, “During this course young people were given a valuable insight into the world of engineering whilst finding out what university life is like.  The Get Ahead with STEM! programme seeks to encourage students from all backgrounds, particularly girls to think about where their engineering skills can take them in the future and just how much they can achieve”

Founded by Dr Cosby Smallpeice in 1966, the Trust has grown tremendously over the past 45 years, helping thousands of young people find a successful career in a multitude of disciplines within the industry from engineering materials, marine technology and naval architecture to nuclear engineering, power engineering, railway engineering and structural engineering.  For further information about The Smallpeice Trust visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk