Engineering education centre launched
16 Apr 2015
University College London (UCL) has today launched the UCL Centre for Engineering Education which is designed to improve the supply of engineers in the UK.
Despite the growing number of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) programmes aimed at young people, the number joining the sector is faiing to meet industry demands, a concern echoed by many within the engineering community.
We need to move the debate on beyond the much-loved ’leaky pipeline’ model
Centre director Paul Greening
To help combat this, engineers at the UCL Centre will work alongside industry to explore and test new routes into a career in engineering.
“We think, for example, that we need to move the debate on beyond the much-loved ’leaky pipeline’ model since it gives the (possibly accurate) impression that we are trying to patch up [the] rigid and well-worn routes into the profession,” said Centre director Paul Greening.
At the new Centre, engineering students will learn alongside students following vocational courses and directly engage in programmes of mentoring, demonstrating and teaching school pupils, a feature central to the Centre’s vision, the university said.
The Centre is also designed to tackle engineering’s gender gap.
Currently, only 6% of UK engineers are female and UCL statistics suggest that in 2014, only 21% of all students taking A level physics were female.
UCL dean of Engineering Sciences Anthony Finkelstein said: “The supply of talented engineers is critical to innovation and growth within the UK and internationally.
“We must look at ways to encourage diversity and inclusiveness within the sector.”
The Centre is a partnership between UCL’s Institute of Education and its Faculty of Engineering Sciences and will also work to support developments in primary and secondary education to create a better understanding of vocational and higher education routes into engineering, UCL said.
