Students Enjoy Engineering Experience with The Smallpeice Trust
13 and 14 year olds from across the UK attended a four-day residential programme organised by The Smallpeice Trust and sponsored by The Institution of Mechanical Engineering to engage with students and provide them with the opportunity to learn about engineering through a series of presentations and practical hands-on workshops.
Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, July 13, 2011 --(PR.com)-- From 5th to 8th July, sixty-seven 13 and 14 year olds from across the UK benefited from a unique hands-on learning experience at the University of Wolverhampton. The four-day residential programme was organised by The Smallpeice Trust and sponsored by The Institution of Mechanical Engineering to engage with students and provide them with the opportunity to learn about engineering through a series of presentations and practical hands-on workshops.
In teams, the students worked on "real-life" challenges organised by The Royal Navy and The Smallpeice Trust. The projects were to design and make an egg crash vehicle and to build a boat which was capable of travelling at a certain speed and was able to withstand a certain amount of weight.
On the first day students also took part in an icebreaker activity called the "shelter project." Students were set the task of building a stable shelter out of cardboard tubes and sticky tape to house the tallest member of their group - this resulted in some interesting and tall designs.
During the course students benefitted from careers talks delivered by JA Envirotanks and Siemens Wind Power, which gave them some inspiration about where a career in the engineering industry could take them.
The students also had the opportunity to develop life skills such as team work, communication, problem solving, time management, finance and presentations over the four days.
Spokesperson Gemma Murphy from The Trust commented, “We are delighted that with the support from The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, we have been able to give these budding engineers an opportunity to learn all about what a career in engineering could be like. Judging by their dedication and enthusiasm to their projects I am sure the students are now in a much better position to make clear and sensible career choices.”
Head of Education at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Chris Kirby, said, “Giving young people an opportunity to discover for themselves the excitement, challenge and reward of engineering is a vital step in encouraging the engineers of tomorrow. In 10 years some of these young people will be helping to solve some of the major challenges out society faces.”
The Engineering Experience course is run by independent charity, The Smallpeice Trust, and is part of an on-going 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 17,677 students across the UK in the past year.
The new course timetable for 2012 will be launched in the autumn school term. 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.
Notes to editors:
Word count: 461
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. In 2009/10, The Smallpeice Trust ran 30 residential courses for 1,700 school-aged students at universities across the country, with girls accounting for 38%. In addition, 15,977 students attended a Smallpeice in-school STEM masterclass.
For more information, visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk.
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In teams, the students worked on "real-life" challenges organised by The Royal Navy and The Smallpeice Trust. The projects were to design and make an egg crash vehicle and to build a boat which was capable of travelling at a certain speed and was able to withstand a certain amount of weight.
On the first day students also took part in an icebreaker activity called the "shelter project." Students were set the task of building a stable shelter out of cardboard tubes and sticky tape to house the tallest member of their group - this resulted in some interesting and tall designs.
During the course students benefitted from careers talks delivered by JA Envirotanks and Siemens Wind Power, which gave them some inspiration about where a career in the engineering industry could take them.
The students also had the opportunity to develop life skills such as team work, communication, problem solving, time management, finance and presentations over the four days.
Spokesperson Gemma Murphy from The Trust commented, “We are delighted that with the support from The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, we have been able to give these budding engineers an opportunity to learn all about what a career in engineering could be like. Judging by their dedication and enthusiasm to their projects I am sure the students are now in a much better position to make clear and sensible career choices.”
Head of Education at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Chris Kirby, said, “Giving young people an opportunity to discover for themselves the excitement, challenge and reward of engineering is a vital step in encouraging the engineers of tomorrow. In 10 years some of these young people will be helping to solve some of the major challenges out society faces.”
The Engineering Experience course is run by independent charity, The Smallpeice Trust, and is part of an on-going 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 17,677 students across the UK in the past year.
The new course timetable for 2012 will be launched in the autumn school term. 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.
Notes to editors:
Word count: 461
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. In 2009/10, The Smallpeice Trust ran 30 residential courses for 1,700 school-aged students at universities across the country, with girls accounting for 38%. In addition, 15,977 students attended a Smallpeice in-school STEM masterclass.
For more information, visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk.
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Contact
The Smallpeice Trust:
Gemma Murphy
+44(0)1926 333214
www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk
or contact:
Claire Fisher
+44(0)1926 333203
clairef@smallpeicetrust.org.uk
Gemma Murphy
+44(0)1926 333214
www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk
or contact:
Claire Fisher
+44(0)1926 333203
clairef@smallpeicetrust.org.uk
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