Students from sixFenlandschools are taking part in aprogrammedesigned to encourage students interested in engineering and manufacturing.
Students from sixFenlandschools are taking part in aprogrammedesigned to encourage students interested in engineering and manufacturing.
It’s about encouraging all young people to fulfil their potential and pursue a rewarding career path.
Matt Diston, Widening Participation Project Coordinator
ֱ̽ ֱ̽'s annual Fenland Engineering Taster Eventsare hosted by , a cutting-edge manufacturer and major employer in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire.
ѱٲڳmakes equipment for international clients in energy, medical science and other industries–one of its most high-profile projects was at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
Back in Chatteris, the company also offers a traditional engineering apprenticeship, drawing most of its recruits from local schools. The ֱ̽ of Cambridge has been working with the firm to inspire and encourage students in local schools for several years.
In the first quarter of 2016, ֱ̽Fenland Engineering Taster programme engaged 92 Year-10students from six schools: ,,,, and .
ֱ̽full-day events comprise a bridge-building challenge overseen by outreach teams from the ֱ̽ and its , followed by a tour around Metalcraft’sworkshops with the firm’s Apprentice Coordinator, Neil Kirby.
Participants are asked to build a bridge across a 1mgap using only paper, key rings and steel nuts and bolts. After receiving a crash course in bridge design, each team competes to build the bridge with the highest strength-to-massratio. Each team’s bridge is tested to breaking point by hanging cans of food to it.
In lateFebruary, it was the turn of eleven students from . Among them,Dylan soon took responsibility for quality control, telling his teammates:“Make sure the paper is rolled tight or it won’t be strong enough”.Across the room, Jamesconcluded:“This is much better than double maths”.
Metalcraft’s Neil Kirby comments:“This programme not only introduces Year 10s to engineering basics, it also gets them thinking about what they want to do when they leave school. Metalcraft stays in contact with local schools all year round and it’s great to be working with Cambridge ֱ̽ to encourage local teenagers to aim high.”
Matt Diston, says:“This is one of the really successful aspiration-raising projects run by the ֱ̽ in the region and we are committed to doing even more. Our work isn’t just about inspiring students to apply to top universities, it’s about encouraging all young people to fulfil their potential and pursue a rewarding career path.”
ֱ̽Fenland Engineering Taster Events are run as part of the ֱ̽’s Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Schools Outreach Group (CAPSOG).
In 2015, members of the group arranged over 51,000 interactions withstudents from 134 local primary and secondary schools to give students potentially life-changing educational opportunities.
CAPSOG’s members include the Department of Engineering, the ֱ̽’s eight Museums and Botanic Garden, the Cavendish Laboratory, the Millennium Mathematics Project, St Catharine’s College and several other Offices.
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