Events

Recruitment and Admissions Forum 2018

Date: 14 Nov 2018

Time: -

Location: Hertha Ayrton STEM Centre, Sheffield Hallam University

Organised by: Engineering Professors' Council

The annual Recruitment and Admissions Forum took place at the Hertha Ayrton STEM Centre, Sheffield Hallam University on 14th November 2018 convened by EPC Recruitment and Admissions Committee Chair, Dr Georgina Harris. Many thanks to SHU for hosting us this year (if you would like to discuss hosting in future, please contact us).

This year’s forum focused on four key strands of admissions: attraction, recruitment, admission and retention. Each theme included both presentations and workshops, with time for discussion and sharing best practice. Plus, for the first time this year, we welcomed lunchtime delegate posters, where information on current and upcoming exciting work across each of these strands were showcased.

The Forum started with the first of two keynotes this year: UCAS Director, Helen Thorne shared the latest engineering trends in UCAS data with us, including a look at offer making behaviours in Engineering.

ATTRACTION: A dual presentation and workshop was led by Fran Dainty (STEM learning) and Dr Susan Scurlock (Primary Engineer) on what attracts a school student to study engineering (engineers in the making).

RECRUITMENT: This was followed by a look at What’s so special about you? as Kathryn Jones (The Honest Marketer) led a workshop on best practice in standing out to potential engineering applicants.

ADMISSIONS: Dr Geoff Parks (University of Cambridge) walked us through the River of Constant Change that is UK entry qualifications. Plus, the results of the EPC’s 2018/19 survey of engineering enrolments, for both undergraduate and postgraduate taught, were then presented by Stella Fowler, EPC’s Policy and Research Officer.

RETENTION: A presentation and workshop on how to keep a student through to graduation was presented by Professor Mike Bramhall (Sheffield Hallam University) and contributed to by all!

Finally our closing keynote speaker Sarah Howls (Office for Students) outlined the new regulator’s access and participation arrangements in the new HE environment in England.

All members will shortly be able to access a summary of the results of the engineering enrolments survey in the members areas of the EPC website. If you have forgotten your password, please contact us.

Please see the detailed schedule for this event, below.

Download the Programme

Wednesday 14th November

09.15 - 09.45

Registration and refreshments

09.45 - 10.00

Welcome

Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University

10.00 - 10.30

KEYNOTE: Engineering admissions: trends in applications, offers & acceptances

Helen Thorne MBE, Director, External Relations, UCAS

10.30 - 11.30

ATTRACTION: Engineers in the making

Dr Susan Scurlock, CEO and Founder, Primary Engineer

What attracts a school student to study engineering?

Fran Dainty, Head of STEM Content and Expertise, STEM Learning

11.30 - 11.45

Refreshments

11.45 - 12.45

RECRUITMENT: What’s so special about you?

Kathryn Jones, Education Marketing Consultant, The Honest Marketer

12.45 - 13.30

Lunch and poster presentations

13.30 - 14.30

ADMISSIONS: Entry qualifications – The River of Constant Change

Dr Geoff Parks, Reader in Nuclear Engineering, University of Cambridge

Launch of the EPC engineering enrolments survey results 2018

Stella Fowler, Engineering Professors’ Council

14.30 - 14.45

Refreshment

14.45 - 15.45

RETENTION How to keep a student through to graduation

Professor Mike Bramhall, Sheffield Hallam University

15.45 - 16.15

KEYNOTE: What works?

Sarah Howls, Head of Access and Participation Funding and Programmes, Office for Students

16.15 - 16.30

Roundup and close

Dr Georgina Harris, Chair of EPC Recruitment and Admissions Committee

Dr Georgina HarrisChair of EPC Recruitment and Admissions Committee

Georgina is Chair of the Recruitment and Admissions Committee of the Engineering Professors’ Council. Georgina is the Greater Manchester Area Chair and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, a member of the Institute of Physics, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Georgina was a founder member and is a current governor of the Crewe Engineering and Design University Technical College and an academic at the Open University.

Georgina has previously held the post of Head of School at Manchester Metropolitan University, Site Engineer and Power Specialist for the Square Kilometre Array Program Development Office (SPDO) and the SKA Support Engineer at the new Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Organisation. Georgina held the roles of PrepSKA UK Project Manager (October 2009 to December 2010) and SKADS System Design and Team Leader (October 2006 to September 2009) responsible for the production of the UK SKA demonstrator, 2-PAD (2 Polarisations All Digital) at Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire.

She is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with an Engineering Doctorate, a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Georgina has worked in a number of academic-industrial collaboration projects. Her successes to date include the development of a combined particulate and NOx reduction technology for treatment of diesel exhaust gases and the redesign of the crank axle for fatigue prevention on the working replica of Robert Stephenson’s ‘Planet’ locomotive at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester

Stella FowlerPolicy and Research Director

Stella Fowler is the Policy and Research Director at the Engineering Professors’ Council. She is responsible for all aspects of policy and research including projects; data analysis; report writing; member surveys and consultations; and events and communications.

Stella has worked in HE analysis for over 20 years with experience at UCAS, on the Higher Education Strategic Planners Association (HESPA) Board and in senior university planning and research data management roles.

Professor Mike BramhallEPC Chair of the Recruitment and Admissions Sub Committee and Forum convenor

Mike is a Professorial Teaching Fellow at TEDI-London and has a strong track record in project-based learning and has published widely in innovations in engineering education. His technical subject area is in metallurgy and materials science, having worked in the steel industry before entering academia. In a previous role he was the Assistant Dean for Academic Development for the faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering & Sciences at Sheffield Hallam University of which he is now an Emeritus Professor. Mike has been on Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) teams for Subject Review, Higher Education Review, Quality Review Visits and Quality and Standards Review for a wide range of Universities, further education colleges and alternative providers. He is a Governor at Northern College for Adult Education, Barnsley, and chairs its Curriculum and Quality Committee. Mike is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and is also an active member and on the Board of the UK Engineering Professors’ Council, being also a member of its Recruitment and Admissions sub-committee. Mike worked nationally as an Associate Director of the Materials Subject Centre from 2003 to 2012 at the University of Liverpool. Mike is also a National Teaching Fellow and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).