Author: joshuawarren

Flying Start Challenge takes off in School of Engineering!

Author joshuawarren | Posted on

The School of Engineering recently hosted the annual Flying Start competition in partnership with several aerospace companies in the West including Airbus and Atkins Realis.

The Inspire Sustainability outreach team helped organise the event which saw around 100 Key Stage 3 pupils from many different schools in the region compete to design, build and fly a glider.  The competition also included other engineering challenges such as poster presentations, straw tower building, wind turbine designs, and balloon car racing.  Thanks also goes to Andy Hill in the Digital Gallery, providing flight and driving sims for the young engineers to have a go on throughout the day.

All of which took place in the School of Engineering in what proved to be an exciting and brilliant day of innovation and inspiration.  The young engineers certainly left the day with raised ambitions and a stronger view of what studying engineering at UWE could look like for them.

The competition was very close, with the team from Clifton High School taking home the top prize!

James Candy from Atkins Realis, thanked the Inspire Sustainability team and the School of Engineering. “It turned out to be a great event. We massively appreciate the effort and enthusiasm you brought to the day, and your support made a real difference.”

To find out more about the Flying Start Challenge, visit https://flyingstartchallenge.com/

To find out more about the Inspire Sustainability outreach team at the School of Engineering, contact the team at engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk or check out the other blog posts about the team’s outreach at Engineering Our Future blog | Engineering Our Future

UWE Engineering at Cheltenham Science Festival

Author joshuawarren | Posted on

This year’s Cheltenham Science Festival was again attended by UWE’s Inspire Sustainability team, providing an exciting STEM activity for the thousands of school children that came along. The team had an activity stand in the festival’s ‘Discover Zone’, along with other festival partners bringing STEM to life.

The team brought their popular ‘Power our Future’ activity, which invites children to become engineers to design and build the best wind turbine blades, generating the most clean energy! The teams must consider the shape, size, angle, and material of their blade design, as well as choosing how many to build! Then test their designs on the real wind turbine, and generate as much energy as possible.

The activity is designed to encourage children to think like an engineer and follow the ‘engineering design process’, whilst also bringing together some key learning around sustainability and how we as a society need to move faster towards renewable energy sources like wind.

The week was a great success with thousands of children making their way through the festival’s ‘Discover Zone’ over six very busy days. The UWE stand saw a lot of interest and every team had their team name and score placed on the leaderboard! We particularly loved the creativity with team names, and congratulations to team ‘Pancake Grandpa’ that ended up winning the week with a score of over 11 volts!

The team and the stand at Cheltenham was also supported by the IMechE, you can find more information about them here.

You can also find information about the workshops and outreach that the Inspire Sustainability team provide by visiting the curiosityconnections.net site, or by emailing the team on engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk.

Education and Engineering students work together to deliver workshops in schools

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Over 1500 children across 7 local schools have received an engaging STEM workshop developed and delivered by engineering and education students, as part of the Professionalism for Engineers module.

The groups of students worked together to create inspiring and fun school workshops teaching various curriculum-linked engineering concepts, aimed at primary-age pupils. 56 classes in total took place, reaching over 1500 children in Filton Avenue, Shield Road, Summerhill, May Park, Stoke Bishop, Chester Park and Glenfrome Primary schools!

The project offers the engineering students an opportunity to practice and develop their communication skills, as well as learning how to turn their technical knowledge into an engaging activity. Supported by future teachers studying education, whom also benefit by gaining confidence in teaching STEM concepts.

Additionally, education students were last week invited by the Inspire Sustainability team to visit the Prototype and Play Lab at the School of Engineering to explore the STEM outreach workshops that the team provides. The students had an introduction to all the engaging and fun outreach activities the team have developed including The West in Minecraft and the new Green Futures card sets. The students were also treated to a tour of the building and even had a chance to check out the Digital Gallery and have a go in the VR cave and on the simulators.

Luke Arnold, Senior Lecturer in Education thanked the team on behalf of the cohort; and the education students have also been offered opportunities to join the Inspire Sustainability team on future outreach.

To find out more about the Professionalism for Engineering module, the Education course or the Inspire Sustainability team and their outreach, please contact Juliet.Edmonds@uwe.ac.uk, Luke.Arnold@uwe.ac.uk, or engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk.

You can also check out the Inspire Sustainability team’s outreach on curiosityconnections.net.

Inspire Sustainability team supporting local families to low-carbon cook!

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The Inspire Sustainability team recently worked again with a team from the Asian Energy Studies Centre at Hong Kong Baptist University to put together a low-carbon cooking workshop for local families in Barton Hill.

As part of a study project on household energy usage, the workshop provided the families with tips and tricks for lowering their bills whilst still cooking nutritious and budget-friendly meals.

Around 25 people including many young children gathered in Cafe Conscious in Barton Hill to experience the workshop, to learn and to eat together. The evening was a great success with a great community spirit.

UWE’s Inspire Sustainability team member and home cook Josh Warren showed the group a delicious and nutritious hearty veggie curry recipe, and local cook Joyce Fong made a flavourful and quick tossed potato salad.

Both dishes went down really well and demonstrated lots of tips for energy-saving, such as batch-cooking, using the microwave, and buying locally and seasonally. Most of the ingredients were even bought from the neighbouring shops and convenience stores in Barton Hill.

The project hopes to continue to bring energy-saving advice and workshops to local communities in Bristol and support families to reduce their bills.

To find out more about the project, you can email the team at engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk

Inspire Sustainability team engage children and families about saving on energy bills in partnership with Asian Energy Studies Centre

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UWE’s Inspire Sustainability team recently partnered with a team from the Asian Energy Studies Centre at Hong Kong Baptist University to conduct some engaging workshops for students at Evergreen Primary Academy in Easton.

The workshop focused on important themes such as energy consumption, energy saving, and renewable energy, and explored with the students the various ways energy is consumed in their daily lives. They gained insights into different energy sources and the importance of saving energy. One of the most exciting parts of the workshop was the hands-on activity: “Power our Future”

Students were tasked with designing and constructing their own wind turbines, focusing on creating efficient blades to maximize electricity production. This activity not only encouraged creativity but also prompted students to think critically about design improvements to enhance efficiency. Students experimented with different blade shapes and shared their findings with one another.

The project also has been recruiting households in the community to signup to a study, providing them with incentives and practical advice to reduce their own energy bills. The team had worked with Evergreen Primary Academy to reach the families of the students involved in the workshop and offer the opportunity.

The workshop is also available to be booked for local schools through the Inspire Sustainability team. If you know of a school or teacher that may be interested in accessing free STEM workshops for their class, then please do contact the team.

You can email the team at engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk or you can check out and download the workshop materials on our Curiosity Connections website here. There are also a whole host of other free STEM workshops to choose from for a variety of age groups.

Inspire Sustainability team at the Somerset Sustainable Futures Summit

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The UWE School of Engineering’s Inspire Sustainability team highlighted future green jobs to young people at the Somerset Sustainable Futures Summit.  The event brought together primary and secondary students, educators, and local businesses, to explore green skills and future career opportunities.

Students were challenged to design wind turbine blades and generate clean energy as part of the new Power our Future workshop activity. You can view teaching resources for the activity here on the Curiosity Connections website.

The event took place on 26th November at Taunton Rugby Football Club, and was a collaboration between Somerset Council, Dorset & Somerset Training Provider Network, Somerset Education Business Partnership, Somerset Careers Hub, and local stakeholders, aimed to inspire Somerset’s young people and build a sustainable future workforce.

Students engaged with interactive exhibits from local employers leading in sustainability and shared their perspectives during a youth voice summit. Key highlights included a keynote speech from climate activist and Castle School student James Lawson and thought-provoking discussions where students shaped priorities for the initiative.

Julie Young of Somerset Council praised the students’ passion and ideas, while Richard Jenkins of DSTPN commended businesses for showcasing practical sustainability efforts that inspired the next generation.

The day concluded with a logo design competition for the initiative, with the winning entry set to feature on the Somerset Sustainable Futures website in the new year.

There’s also a short video of the day from the Somerset Education Business Partnership, available here.

If you’d like to hear more about the event, or find out ways you can get involved in future events with the Inspire Sustainability team, please contact the team at engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk

Schools can also book free STEM workshops from the Inspire Sustainability team including the Power our Future activity, on the Curiosity Connections website, or by contacting the team.

Are you an engineer? Inspire the next generation of engineers by signing up to be part of the Leaders Award competition

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The Leaders Award ‘If You Were An Engineer…’ competition regional awards will again be hosted this year at UWE’s School of Engineering Building, and you can become a part. The competition asks school children from across the country to imagine and design creative solutions to problems, as if they were an engineer. The designs are then judged (right here at UWE!) and the winners are invited to the awards ceremony and celebration taking place this summer.

A large part of the ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ competition is having school pupils interviewing real engineers and enabling them to ask the questions that matter to them. These interviews provide an opportunity for engineers to share how they use creative problem solving in their work and inspire the pupils to find their own engineering ideas.  This leads the pupils to then design their own engineering solutions to problems and submit their ideas to the competition.

The Leaders Award team are asking for real engineers to become a part of the process and sign up to be interviewed online by pupils from across the region. Giving you the opportunity to inspire the next generation of engineers and also develop communication and outreach skills.

Young people cannot be what they cannot see. Being able to engage with engineering and learn that anyone can grow up to work in the industry can have a profound effect on them. So, if you want to be involved and help inspire the next generation of engineers get in touch today!

As recognition of your involvement, the Leaders Award team will welcome you as a Primary Engineer ‘Engineer Inspirer’, and will support your involvement and provide you with recognition of engagement for your own professional development.

There’s an information flyer you can download below.

Engineer-Leaders-Award-Competition-FlyersDownload

For more information or to register interest, visit the website here, or email either engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk or louisa.parsons@primaryengineer.com

Inspire Sustainability team speakersat CLF Schools ECO Conferences

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The Inspire Sustainability team were invited to give a keynote speech and lead a workshop at the Cabot Learning Federation’s ECO Schools Conferences in June.

Year 12 students from several schools across the West of England took part in an ECO Conference at UWE Bristol on 27th June, whilst primary and secondary students from CLF eco-clubs across many schools gathered together in Weston Super Mare at Winterstoke Hundred Acedemy on the 28th June.

Dr Laura Fogg-Rogers led a workshop for Year 12 students on youth climate communications and Josh Warren gave a keynote speech about climate action, discussing a range of sustainability topics including what net-zero means, the challenges in reaching it, the need for green skills, and how they relate to green jobs. 

The teams also held stands for the student attendees to interact with sustainability-focussed STEM activities including the West in Minecraft and the Engineering Curiosity career cards.  

Also at the conference, held at the Winterstoke Hundred Academy, were other stalls dedicated to climate action and sustainability, such as the fight against Bristol Airport expansion, how to reduce your food miles, and the UN’s Sustainable Development goals.   There was also an interactive panel-game style discussion with Tom Walmsley from the Ministry or Eco Education, discussing which party has responsibility for climate action in various everyday situations.

The conference proved a real success with the students feeling empowered to take renewed climate action back to their respective schools, and be more equipped to make a meaningful impact.

To learn more about the Inspire Sustainability team, or if you have questions about their outreach, please email engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk

To find out about the sustainability-focussed STEM activities that the team offer, and how to book them, please visit https://www.digitaltrailblazers.net/resources/

To learn more about the CLF Eco Conference, please contact sam.hodder@clf.uk

Young people become inventors at Izzy Gizmo themed STEM workshop

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Last week, a class of Year 3 students from Cabot Primary were inspired by a STEM workshop at UWE’s School of Engineering based upon the children’s book, ‘Izzy Gizmo’ by Pip Jones. 

The workshop was a collaboration between the Inspire Sustainability team and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre, as part of the development of a stage-show based upon the book. 

‘Izzy Gizmo’ is a young global majority girl with a passion for inventing all sorts of wacky machines.  In the book, she discovers that engineering is all about finding success by trying again when her inventions don’t always work first time.  One day, she finds an injured crow on her way home, and sets about trying to invent something to allow her new friend to fly again.

The children in the workshop, were delighted to be joined by the author, Pip Jones.  Pip introduced the children to the character of Izzy, and also talked to them about how inventions have changed their own worlds over time.  The children then were challenged to think like Izzy and design and build a flying machine for the crow, named ‘Fixer’.   

All students were awarded the ‘Izzy and Fixer’s Award of Invention!’ by Pip for attending the workshop and had a really inspiring day building and inventing!

More pictures from the day will be added here soon!

Learn more about the Bristol Old Vic here: https://bristololdvic.org.uk/

You can read about and order the Izzy Gizmo book here: https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Izzy-Gizmo/Pip-Jones/9780857075130

To find out more about this workshop or the other outreach from the Inspire Sustainability team, please email engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk

Inspire Family Fun Day free tickets now available! – Saturday July 6th

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Tickets are now available for the School of Engineering’s annual Family Fun Day on Saturday the 6th of July. The event runs between 9.30 and 16:00, tickets are FREE and can be booked here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/engineering-family-fun-day-uwe-bristol-tickets-880113151127?aff=oddtdtcreator

There will be a variety of activities throughout the day for families to enjoy including UWE’s robots, LEGO Mindstorm robot building, a wind turbine building competition, and the ExplorerDome planetarium show We Make Our Future.

UWE is bringing all this together to celebrate the amazing inventions children in the South West designed for the Leaders Award competition – with shortlisted entries on display alongside the robots, music technology, crafty activities, and did we mention a FREE planetarium show?!

We expect the Family Fun Day to be very popular so don’t hesitate and snap up your free tickets now. Learn more about the We Make Our Future planetarium show here and look at photos from last year’s Family Fun Day on the Engineering Our Future Blog here.

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