From around the sector

Educating tomorrow’s engineers: the impact of Government reforms on 14–19 education

On 8 February 2013 the Science and Technology Committee published its Seventh Report of Session 2012–13, Educating tomorrow’s engineers: the impact of Government reforms on 14–19 education [HC 665]. On 5 April 2013 the Committee received a memorandum from the Government which contained a response to the Report outlining its commitment to support STEM education and it was debated in Committee with schools Minister Liz Truss on 16 May.  You can read the original report here.

Engineering Professors’ Council news

New Committee members

As Professor Simon Hodgson, Dean of the School of Science and Technology at Teesside University takes over the baton of Presidency from Professor Helen Atkinson of the University of Leicester, we’re also delighted to welcome three new Committee members: Professor Mike Bramhall of Sheffield Hallam University and Dr Colin Turner, Head of the School of Engineering at the University of Ulster who were both elected to the EPC Committee at this year’s Annual General Meeting.  We have also completed our search to ensure complete representation of the devolved administrations on the Committee by welcoming Professor Peter Excell of Glyndwr University as representative for Wales.

New service for EPC members

We’re pleased to launch a new service for our members: the Data and Analysis section of our website.  It contains a range of sector information in digestible form to enable you to compare your own institution’s key metrics against those of others.  We’ve provided data for the majority of the metrics used in the UK university rankings for the key engineering disciplines and these will be of particular interest to those involved in leading or contributing to university budgeting and planning rounds.  If there are others you’d like to see, contact us.

Opportunities to influence

Take part in our quick poll

EngineeringUK through its annual report EngineeringUK 2103: The State of Engineering, has identified that in order to meet the future UK demand for engineers with Level 4+ skills the UK needs to roughly double its output of students with Level 4+ qualifications via HEIs (and FECs) . This assertion has been scrutinised by BIS and has been accepted, fed into the development of their Industrial  Strategy (the engineering part) and into John Perkins’ Review. The question now bubbling under amongst those in the know is this: if we were to have a magic wand and were able to put in place incentives, change perceptions at schools level etc etc so that the number of students applying for engineering at University doubled, would universities actually have the capacity to recruit them? And if not how long would it take for departments to build the capacity to be able to accommodate a doubling of numbers?  Take part in our quick poll to tell us the situation at your university.  We’re looking for quick and dirty answers to a complex question that needs to be researched in more detail – poll closes 31 May, 2013.

Science is Vital Petition: increase Governmental spend on R&D to 0.8% of GDP

In 2010, the core research budget set by the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills was ring-fenced, but frozen in cash terms. However, cuts to capital expenditure and the R&D spend of other departments, combined with the effects of inflation, have significantly eroded the overall science budget, despite the introduction of substantial additional funds targeted to specific research areas.  Science is Vital is calling for support to ask the Government to demonstrate its long-term commitment to funding science and engineering as part of an overall strategy of innovation and training to boost growth and enable the UK to meet the social and technological challenges of the 21st Century. Committing to this target, endorsed by some of the UK’s top scientists, will send a clear message to industry, potential investors and the brightest minds of the next generation that the UK will continue to be amongst the best places in the world to do research now and in the future.  You can sign their petition here.  And don’t forget, the Engineering Professors’ Council is still collecting “impact stories” from members to use in a variety of ways to help support this message in the lead up to the Comprehensive Spending Review.  You can submit your case study narratives here.

Doctoral impact and careers tracking study

The UK funding councils and RCUK have commissioned research consultancy CFE to carry out a study of PhD graduates to examine their career pathways, their impact in employment, and how their skills contribute to innovation and growth.  As part of this work, doctoral graduates from 2003/04 to 2005/06 are invited to take part in an impact and careers survey which will be open until 31 May.  The aim is to improve understanding of the impact of doctoral training over the medium to long-term. Questions focus on the importance of research skills and expertise developed during doctoral training in gaining employment; the extent to which the doctoral degree experience enabled graduates to progress towards their long-term career aspirations; the relevance and importance of their doctoral training in contributing to key activities in their roles.  The survey is available here.

Student funding

Land Rover and WISE launch scholarship to support female engineeers

Land Rover, in collaboration with UK charity WISE, has announced a new scholarship programme to enable young women to pursue a career in engineering.  The Range Rover Evoque WISE Scholarship will provide a £9,000 bursary to three female students or apprentices who would like to explore a career or further studies in engineering. In addition the winners will be provided with mentoring support from both Land Rover senior engineers and WISE representatives.  For more information, click here.

IET scholarships

Did you know that IET offers a range of scholarships of up to £3,000 per annum to students about to commence an IET accredited degree programme in the UK?  Students can apply for an IET scholarship worth £1000 per annum if they are a UK resident, plan to commence an IET accredited MEng or BEng degree course in the UK and expect to achieve either 3 ‘A’ grades at A-levels or 3 ‘A’ grade Advanced Highers or 5 ‘A’ grade Highers.  The deadline for applications is 27 June 2013, 17:00 GMT.   There are other awards available, with information available here.  This is a great source of funding, so please do promote it to your applicants.