Engineering in the Community, Outreach | Engineering Our Future blog

Community grants available from UWE Bristol Fund

Laura Hobbs | 5 March 20195 March 2019

Applications for grants of up to £3,000 for projects which enhance student learning (inside or outside of the curriculum) through practical, community-based activities are still being accepted until Monday 1 April.

Applications must be led by a current UWE Bristol student or staff member, and must also identify a lead community partner who should be involved in development of the application. If you have a good idea but need help finding a suitable community partner, please contact communityfund@uwe.ac.uk. Projects should have a positive impact on the local community in one of the theme areas: Schools and Education; Sustainability or Stronger Communities.

Applications close on Monday 1 April. Decisions on funding will be made in mid-May. For more information please visit the UWE Bristol Fund webpage or contact communityfund@uwe.ac.uk.

UWE Bristol sends 15 engineers to work on five Engineering in the Community projects

Laura Hobbs | 7 February 20197 February 2019

The Department of Engineering Design and Mathematics at UWE Bristol has launched a new module called Engineering in the Community. This Group Project Challenge aims to set some real-world challenges for the engineering students on our Postgraduate Diploma course. The students are now working in groups to come up with design solutions to a community problem to make a difference in the local area.

The module provides a broad comprehension of the competencies and social responsibilities required for ‘engineering citizenship’ in order to be a professional engineer. It introduces the wider social considerations needed to enact Corporate Social Responsibility in the modern engineering industry.

Each group has been given an engineering challenge for which they have to develop a socially acceptable solution for their assigned community group. They are learning about a variety of engagement strategies utilised by professional organisations and Chartered Engineers, as well as the variety of audiences with which these skills can be practised and explored.

Engineers also need to recognise and value the need for them to work effectively with both modern technologies and people in their social or organisational contexts – a hybrid challenge employing engineering ideas in practice.

We have 15 engineers out in the community (12 engineers from Airbus, two from Babcock and one from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)). They are working with four community groups across five projects:

Improving access to Bedminster shops (as presented by Olivia from the Bubble Play Café, and Alice from Trylla in the photos above)
Improving community space for the North Bristol Community Project
Improving heating options for van dwellers – in association with Residents Against Dirty Energy, presented by Stuart Phelps
Improving air quality in mechanical garages – in association with Residents Against Dirty Energy
Improving composting for Incredible Edible community gardens.

We’re really looking forward to seeing the solutions the engineers come up with!

Engineering our Future blog reaches 100 posts

Laura Hobbs | 23 January 201923 January 2019

Since our launch in June, we’ve now published 100 posts on our blog, covering support and development of engineering in society and the community, and diversity and support for under-represented groups in STEM. We’ve covered topics as diverse as career paths, robots, awards, turf cutting, conference presentations, Lottie dolls, teaching resources, theatre, and more.

Huge thanks to all those who have contributed content, and shared our posts more widely. If you’d like to write for the blog, or have material you’d like to be published for you, please get in touch: engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk.

Applications for community projects to access Engineering in the Community support

Laura Hobbs | 28 November 2018

Would you like a nature or rain garden area for your school? Do you need technology ideas for citizen groups? Do you need help with structural or civil issues on your site? Read on to find out how you could access support from UWE Bristol students, in this guest post from Dr Corra Boushel.

The Department of Engineering Design and Mathematics at UWE Bristol is launching a new module called Engineering in the Community. This Group Project Challenge aims to set some real-world challenges for the engineering students on our Postgraduate Diploma course. The students will work in groups to come up with a design solution to a community problem, and may even make a prototype.

We are now looking for community, voluntary and social enterprise sectors, and small businesses with problems to solve. Would you like a nature or rain garden area for your school? Do you need technology ideas for citizen groups? Do you need help with structural or civil issues on your site? As part of their Group Project Challenge students will work with your community group to design an engineering solution to your problem.

The deadline for submitting your project is Monday 10^th December. Projects will run February – July 2019.

Download the briefing note and application form for more information, and send to laura.foggrogers@uwe.ac.uk.