Pupils in a Material World

Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, July 11, 2010 --(PR.com)-- From 28th June to 1st July 2010, forty-five students aged 14/15 spent the week enjoying a unique learning experience at The University of Manchester. The four-day Engineering Materials residential course, organised by The Smallpeice Trust in partnership with the University’s School of Materials and the LATEST (Light Alloys Towards Environmentally Sustainable Transport) EPSRC Portfolio Partnership, was designed to give students a taste of this exciting and rapidly expanding subject.

Lab sessions provided a hands-on opportunity for the students to discover the fundamentals of Materials Science and the breadth of the subject. Sessions were designed to explore not just Engineering Materials, but also looked at Biomedical Materials Science. Working on different group tasks, students solved engineering challenges including a ‘Straw Towers Construction’, a chance to design a jet engine and an ‘Advanced Composite Beam Project’. The course also included ‘Meet the Engineers’ sessions, where students had the opportunity to speak to engineers from Rolls-Royce and Bentley, who gave a company introduction and answered questions about their job responsibilities. Outreach Administrator for the School of Materials, Karen Donnelly-Bale, stated how important events like this are for students still at school to help them make informed choices of subjects to pursue at University. “Materials Science is a subject area which has fantastic career opportunities, but is little known amongst school children. Engaging with these courses is a great way for our academic staff to share their enthusiasm for the subject and tell a new audience about some of their exciting research discoveries.”

Students developed and improved their team building, communication, time management, problem solving, planning and presentation skills, whilst experiencing university life. They met new people, engaged in new challenges and – most of all – had fun whilst doing so. Social activities included a film evening and a sports night. On the final night, The Smallpeice Trust hosted a conference style dinner, where students and supervisors had the opportunity to socialise and share their experiences of the week.

Spokesperson Claire Fisher from The Smallpeice Trust commented. “Through our established partnership with this leading University, we have been able to offer students a greater understanding of the world of engineering materials. We hope this opportunity will encourage more students to explore and pursue a career in this field in the future.”

The Engineering Materials course is run by the independent educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust, as part of an ongoing programme of residential courses to help young people aged 13 to 18 learn and develop skills in engineering, design, technology and manufacturing. Through running residential courses and STEM enrichment days, The Trust has reached out to 15,630 students across the UK in the past year.

The new course timetable for 2011 will be launched in September. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. To find out more, visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk, or telephone The Smallpeice Trust on 01926 333200.

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Notes to Editor

About The Smallpeice Trust

The Smallpeice Trust is an independent charitable trust which promotes engineering as a career, primarily through the provision of residential courses for young people aged 13 to 18.

The Smallpeice Trust was founded in 1966 by Dr Cosby Smallpeice, a pioneering engineer and inventor of the Smallpeice Lathe. Following the stock market flotation of his company Martonair, Dr Smallpeice invested his energy and part of his personal fortune to set up the Trust to ensure that British industry could continuously benefit from his proven design and engineering philosophies: “Simplicity in design, economy in production.”

The Trust is now governed by an eminent board of non-executive trustees and members from a diverse range of engineering, industry, educational and professional bodies. Over the past year, The Smallpeice Trust has reached out to around 16,000 young people through 32 different subsidised 4-day residential courses and 1-day in-school curriculum enrichment masterclasses.

For more information, visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk

About The School of Materials
"Materials engineering and innovation are at the heart of the modern world. Everyday people watch television, use computers, read newspapers, drive a car, fly in a plane, need medical treatment or use performance and fashion clothing."
- Professor Robert J. Young - Head of the School of Materials.
Undergraduate courses

We offer eight undergraduate courses at the School of Materials, some of which include industrial training, these include:

Materials Science and Engineering:
Combining physics and chemistry with engineering, Materials Science and Engineering is an exciting and rapidly expanding subject, directly focused on industrial needs. Today's materials scientists are developing the advanced new materials required for applications ranging from nanotechnology to super-jumbo aeroplanes.

Biomedical Materials Science:
Combining the study of biology alongside materials, Biomedical Materials Science is an exciting and rapidly expanding field. As life expectancy increases, biomedical materials scientists are at the forefront of developing pioneering methods to replace and restore tissues and organs of the human body, from artificial hips and knees to tissue engineering. These advances are critical to the development of medical treatments.