The Engineering Festival 2011 was organised by STEM Team East and was held at IWM Duxford on 18th October 2011. It was the first of a new tradition of high quality Engineering outreach events from STEM Team East. Read on and be impressed!
About the Day
- 529 students aged 14-18 yrs attended from all over the Eastern Region
- 45 teachers
- 23 schools and 4 home educators
- 49 different employers –including major multinationals such as Unilever and ARM
- 59 different activities for students and teachers
- Engineering at all level from graduate route, diploma and by apprenticeships.
The different types of engineering represented on the day were: biomechatronics, robotics, electronics, systems control, structural, aeronautical, mechanical and acoustics to name a few. The different types of industries and field of engineering included: energy production and supply, water, fast manufacture consumer goods, space, aerospace, aircraft, heavy vehicles, security systems, electronics goods, construction and transport.
We set out with the aim to design and organise an event which would showcase the prowess of engineering here in East Anglia. An event which would bring opportunities for students to engage in some Engineering challenge activities, work through them with teams of qualified Engineers, and allow them to learn on the job! Being in Cambridge, a centre of excellence, meant that students met some of the worlds best Engineers.
This is the age of Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Engineering and the Festival showcased the latest in Engineering skills and processes that we need to embed in to our schools. Students and teachers took part in workshops featuring Computer Aided Design, 3D prototyping and printing. There were also workshops using wind tunnels, remote operated submersible vehicles, structural builds, mechanical operations and so on, so that students had the chance to revise or acquire basic knowledge and, through talking with Engineers, get insights into more advanced techniques.
We were astounded by the response to our invitation to Schools and Engineering Companies in their support for this event. We thank everyone for making this such a successful day and look forward to the next Engineering Festival.
Don’t just take our word for it!
“The youngsters were a joy to work with, Bright, Intelligent and asked some searching questions. I thoroughly enjoyed the event. Well done STEM TEAM East. Look forward to the next event.” STEM Ambassador.
“The highlight of the day was seeng all students engaged in hands-on activities, the shear variety, people in industry encouraging the students.” Teacher.
Good variety on offer. Liked the CPD aspect and got an opportunity for further CPD as a result. Information on the activities good. Teacher.
“The professionalism attracted us to the event.-expectation of quality, a lot on offer. Aim to inspire students to start to think about their careers. Teacher.
“The event highlighted aspects of engineering that we were not previously aware of.” Student.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the engineering festival. It was very well arranged and organised and I will certainly attend another one in the future. I enjoyed the creative session making an underwater motor. Today really did benefit my knowledge about a variety of engineering careers that are available in completely different ways! It was a pleasure to turn up to this great day!” Student.