Search

Engineering, the "E" in STEM, is seldom taught as a distinct curriculum subject in English and Welsh schools to pupils under the age of 14 years. This contrasts with design and technology (D&T), taken in this paper to represent the largest contributor to the "T" in STEM (the remainder being taken to be the computing and digital communications aspects of ICT), which is currently taught to all pupils up to the age of 14 and remains a very popular option thereafter. The UK Government STEM programme (with sister projects: the LSIS 16+ STEM programme, the London Engineering Project and the 14-19 Diploma in Engineering) has provided large-scale action-research opportunities to better understand the nature of the T and E in STEM. This paper describes how the T and E in STEM have been found to be subjects in their own right and also to provide practical context for other STEM subjects. Some effective-practice guidelines have been established as a result, and these are discussed, but the paper concludes there is still much to do to fully establish the identity and character of the T and the E in STEM. Ideas for how this might develop are offered. (Contains 3 figures.)

This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an educational program. Engineering the Future (EtF) sought to promote a permanent, informed awareness within the school community of high-level engineering by embedding key aspects of engineering within the education curriculum. The Scottish education system is used for a case study in which a range of pilot high schools worked in close partnership with two university engineering departments. The study focuses on electronic/electrical engineering (EEE), a technically challenging area, which reflects many of the problems that are intrinsic to modern society. In so doing, the work also sought to support and refine the transition from the school environment to higher education engineering courses. EtF is founded on research into transformational change and describes the findings of a three-year program that sought to develop sustainable and transferable means of encouraging school students to study engineering at university. The authors describe the conditions needed to support sustainable developments. They also provide an analysis of inevitable constraints and suggest strategies to address these issues. The paper concludes that sustainable long-term promotion of engineering within schools to support the transition to university is possible if certain conditions are fulfilled. These conditions include the use of a model that facilitates partnerships among researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners in all sectors. Building such essential linkages is often challenging, but this effort is necessary if changes in engineering education are to be realized and sustained. (Contains 1 table.)

This paper gives a short overview of the UK government's STEM agenda and then considers one aspect in depth--the STEM Advisory Forum. It explains how the Forum operates to draw together views from across the STEM community through online discussions and face-to-face events. Four examples are given of topics that have been dealt with by the Forum. Firstly the topic of engineering, enrichment and engagement is covered through samples of various events and discussions. A major issue covered is the number of young people taking A Level mathematics. The background to the issue is explained and how views expressed on the Forum might have had some influence upon the Government's advanced level target and may yet impact on admissions behaviour in universities. A third short example of impact on the number of university places for STEM subjects is given and the piece finishes with an example of impact at local level in schools. (Contains 4 figures.)

The article presents information on European Control Conferences that took place during 1991-2001. First European Control Conference was held in Grenoble, France in July 1991. Noteworthy is a high percentage of screened papers, which seems to be due to the fact that this was the first conference and a substantial part of papers were preplanned to some extent because they were presented at the 28 so-called invited sessions. The Seventh European Control Conference took place in Cambridge, Great Britain on September 14, 2003. The European Union recently pays much attention to increasing the standing of the European researchers in the international science and engineering. This was the main goal of organizing in 1990 the European Union Control Association.

From the mid-20th C., construction and engineering pedagogy and curricula have moved from long-held traditional experiential apprenticeship approaches to one ostensibly decoupling practice and theory. This paper traces this decoupling and explores modern-day opportunities and challenges for recoupling university education with industry practice. Within this context the UK Government funds Graduate Level Apprenticeships (GLA) and introduces the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), arguably signalling a desire to recouple. Nevertheless, many challenges from following previous UK Government policy prioritising research remain, particularly for post-1992 institutions. Arguably, Higher Education Institutions (HEI's) are at a pedagogical crossroads, considering whether to choose REF-ville, TEF-ville, and/or Apprentice Township. Do HEI's continue their increasingly decontextualized theoretical approach, or re-embrace construction and engineering education's experiential roots? We present and discuss opportunities and challenges currently facing HEI's, aiming to help inform decisions regarding recoupling theory and practice in construction and engineering teaching and learning, but potentially also other fields.

The paper presents a curriculum design for, and subsequent evaluation of, a communications systems course using problem-based learning (PBL) as the instructional methodology. It details the rationale for implementing PBL as well as reporting intended learning outcomes and assessing the students' achievements. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

This paper explores the determinants of the choice of UK universities by overseas undergraduate applicants. We use data on overseas applicants in Business Studies and Engineering from 2002 to 2007, to 97 UK universities. Estimating using a Hausman-Taylor model to control for the possible correlation between our explanatory variables and unobservable university-level effects, we find that the fees charged may influence the application decision of some students, but that any relationship between levels of fees and applications is non-linear. The quality of education provided is positively and significantly related to the number of applications. Proximity to London and the existing popularity of a university among home applicants, are also significant predictors of university applications. (Contains 2 figures and 6 tables.)

This paper reports on a multifaceted approach in electrical engineering outreach focused on the area of semiconductor technology. The activities developed can be used in combination for a very wide range of audiences in both age and stage of education, as has been demonstrated with great success. Moreover, the project has developed cross-disciplinary activities designed to engage nonscientific audiences and has used entirely "nonscientific" venues, such as art galleries. The suite of activities, given the umbrella title "Chips for Everyone", includes: (1) "Chips for Everyone": drop-in activities for fairs, shows, shopping centers; (2) "Chips with Relish": interactive workshops for groups of school pupils; and (3) "Chips with Flair": an arts-science collaboration in music, art, video, and engineering to present a new perspective on semiconductor technology. To achieve this diverse mix of outreach activities, the Chips for Everyone team represents a very broad spectrum of skills, its members being engineering academics, musicians, artists, education academics, public engagement specialists, and student teachers in technology. The development process is quite generic and could be applied in other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. The subject focus of the project is semiconductor technology, a technology that influences the daily lives of everyone and yet is largely invisible. The activities seek to engage, engender interest, and promote informed discussion about this technology and engineering in general. From modest beginnings as a filler during the setting up of another outreach program, Chips for Everyone has developed into a major program reaching over 25 000 young people and families in school workshops, shopping centers, and art exhibitions in Scotland and across the U.K. The development method for the activities is innovative and creative, using the complimentary skills of research academics and students in both electronic engineering and technology initial-teacher education (ITE). (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)

The nuclear engineer emerged as a new form of recognised technical professional between 1940 and the early 1960s as nuclear fission, the chain reaction and their applications were explored. The institutionalization of nuclear engineering--channelled into new national laboratories and corporate design offices during the decade after the war, and hurried into academic venues thereafter--proved unusually dependent on government definition and support. This paper contrasts the distinct histories of the new discipline in the USA and UK (and, more briefly, Canada). In the segregated and influential environments of institutional laboratories and factories, historical actors such as physicist Walter Zinn in the USA and industrial chemist Christopher Hinton in the UK proved influential in shaping the roles and perceptions of nuclear specialists. More broadly, I argue that the State-managed implantation of the new subject within further and higher education curricula was shaped strongly by distinct political and economic contexts in which secrecy, postwar prestige and differing industrial cultures were decisive factors.

Women remain underrepresented in UK engineering, constituting only 11% of the engineering workforce in 2017 (WISE, 2017). This paper summarises the findings from two focus groups. From a total of 12 participants, the groups explored the experiences of undergraduate women engineering and navigation students at the University of Plymouth. Our aim was to identify ways in which we might support the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in these disciplines. By identifying common experiences, it was possible to illustrate how women as a group experience engineering and navigation differently to men. Our findings support those of many other studies and include the "non-visibility" of engineering as a career option for girls and women, and the need to adopt a range of strategies in order to fit in and claim an authentic identity as an engineer, rather than a "woman engineer." Participants were sceptical about initiatives overtly contrived towards helping women to progress in the disciplines, as these can be perceived as constituting a form of positive discrimination against male students with the added concern that male students view them as such. Future research and possible initiatives are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiences described in this paper are of six overseas-trained engineers whose education (primarily British) and experience followed different routes. Their applications for professional registration were turned down because they could not submit transcripts of their education. This paper discusses the origin of the British approach to secondary and higher education in the hope that evaluators of foreign education might gain insight into the quality of education of many foreign-trained engineers practicing in the United States. The external examiner system of London University was exported to all British colonies, and this has strongly influenced the systems of education in these countries even after independence. The strong control of the state over the content and quality of the curriculum also extends to the process of professional registration. Thus, because of the basic similarity in academic standards in all the countries of the British Commonwealth, an engineer who has had his or her education and professional training in one part of the Commonwealth can usually be licensed to practice in Britain even if he or she has never lived there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on some investment decisions of Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth & Co. Ltd. Because of its implications for the growth performance of the British economy before 1914, the reluctance, of many of Britain's largest firms to move into some of the more important expanding areas of engineering after 1890 is a subject which has long interested economic historians. At a general level there has been much discussion of this phenomenon, but there has been little evidence derived from business records. The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the investment decisions made between 1900 and 1914 by Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth & Co. Ltd. in order to shed some light on this question. An old established Tyneside engineering firm, Armstrong Whitworth was one of Great Britain's largest industrial undertakings, and by the turn of the century it was increasingly specializing in the armaments business. As economist R.C. Trebilcock has convincingly shown, the nature of the company's arms operations favours a move into one of the new industries of this period, the motor vehicle business, a move which was in fact made by Armstrong's shortly after 1900.

Abstract: The Faculty of Engineering at The University of Nottingham, UK, has developed interdisciplinary, hands-on workshops for primary schools that introduce space technology, its relevance to everyday life and the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths. The workshop activities for 7–11 year olds highlight the roles that space and satellite technology play in observing and monitoring the Earth's biosphere as well as being vital to communications in the modern digital world. The programme also provides links to ‘how science works’, the environment and citizenship and uses pixel art through the medium of digital photography to demonstrate the importance of maths in a novel and unconventional manner. The interactive programme of activities provides learners with an opportunity to meet ‘real’ scientists and engineers, with one of the key messages from the day being that anyone can become involved in science and engineering whatever their ability or subject of interest. The methodology introduces the role of scientists and engineers using space technology themes, but it could easily be adapted for use with any inspirational topic. Analysis of learners’ perceptions of science, technology, engineering and maths before and after participating in ENGage showed very positive and significant changes in their attitudes to these subjects and an increase in the number of children thinking they would be interested and capable in pursuing a career in science and engineering. This paper provides an overview of the activities, the methodology, the evaluation process and results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The concerns over shortages of engineering graduates with the right skills entering industry is increasing. Lack of highly skilled graduates increases recruitment costs and affects the performance of the UK industry. Employers should therefore supply more feedback on the quality of graduates to make sure the changing requirements of industry are recognized and reflected in engineering degree programs. This research investigated how linking students throughout their degree study with employers affected students, academia, and employers. Evidence was obtained from sponsored and placement undergraduate engineering students in a department of Civil and Building Engineering, their academic tutors, and their employers. The results showed sponsored engineering programs that are operated by a university department in cooperation with employers matched the needs of students and requirements of employers. Sponsorship allowed both students and sponsors to have practical experience of working arrangements over three or more years before either party made a full commitment, it helped to develop undergraduate programs, and provided students with experience of real-life industrial engineering challenges. The main conclusions to be drawn from this study are sponsorship is a valuable strategy for enhancing the professional skills of intending engineers. More feedback from employers on the quality of graduates should be provided to departments of engineering so that the changing requirements of industry are recognized and reflected in engineering degree programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International comparisons of engineering graduate numbers are frequently used as indices of industrial development and measures of the responsiveness of the educational system to industrial requirements. Such comparisons make implicit assumptions about quality by assuming that like institutions or like qualifications are being compared. In this paper the concept of 'best practice' engineering education is derived from engineering manpower reports of German engineering education in order to address issues of both quantity and quality in comparing engineering education in Britain and Japan. Japan is found to have associated engineering education with relatively more prestigious institutions and to have attracted a higher proportion of more able male pupils to broad based engineering education compared to Britain. Yet there are some interesting differences between the model of 'best practice' engineering education based on Germany and Japanese practice, particularly in curricula, which underline the importance of the division of labour between education and employment in the education and training of engineers. Examining the responsiveness of educational systems through propositions derived from a model of 'best practice' rather than through simple output statistics underlines the importance of different patterns of institutional development, the role of the state, educational and occupational selection, and status within the curriculum for understanding the variety of contemporary engineering education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the "Innovation Nation" white paper released by the British government. The white paper lays out plans to trigger innovation and enterprise in Great Britain with the goal of making the nations the most enterprising economy in the world. The paper stated that each government should come up with its own innovation procurement plan. There are earmarks included in the white paper such as those for Project Enthuse and the Wellcome Trust. According to the Campaign for Science & Engineering (CaSE), the significance of science and engineering to the economy of the nation was not highligted in the white paper.

The article provides information on the Industrial Training Levy Order 2008 in Great Britain. The Industrial Training Levy (Construction Industry Training Board) gives effect to levy proposals of the Board which were submitted under section 11 of the Industrial Training Act 1982. The proposals were intended for the imposition of levy to raise money towards the Board's expenses. The Industrial Training Levy (Engineering Construction Industry Training Board) is intended for employers engaged in the engineering construction industry.

The article offers information on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education initiatives in the secondary curriculum. It presents information about proposals that are being delivered with high-level political support, including U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of a range of STEM initiatives in November 2009 and the appointment of a National STEM Director in Great Britain. It suggests that changing workforce patterns and economic downturn may be leading to an increased focus on STEM education in 2012.

Over the last three decades many universities have offered various programmes related to Information Systems. However, the rapid changes in recent years demand constant evaluation and modification of education programmes. Recent challenges include, for instance, the move towards programmes that are more applied and professionally-orientated. The Bologna Declaration in Europe with its three level study structure as well as the increasing pressure to ensure funding within most departments adds further pressure to many universities. Despite attempts being made to provide reference to curricula and guidelines, many universities and faculties struggle with the proper direction and design of the information systems curricula. Common reference curricula related to information systems are, for example: the IS 2002; Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in information systems; the MSIS 2000: Model Curriculum and Guidelines for Graduate Degree Programs in Information Systems. Although these guidelines have existed for many years, many discussions and disagreements exist on the content and direction of information systems curricula and information systems as a discipline. Recently a joint task force of the Association for Computing Machinery and Association of Information Systems is aiming at revising the IS 2002 undergraduate curriculum (Topi et al., 2007). At the same time we are experiencing decreasing enrolments in information system programmes worldwide (Granger, Dick, Luftman, Slyke, & Watson, 2007). This article views information systems study programmes from an engineering perspective and presents a framework for structuring information systems programmes within Europe. We amalgamated the IS 2002 and MSIS 2000 model curriculum with a recommendation for studying business informatics, published from the German Society for Informatics (Gesellschaft für Informatik, 2003). The framework was used to identify differences between selected study programmes currently in place for information systems curricula. For the study we selected two historically different educational systems: the United Kingdom and Ireland as representative for the Anglophone area and Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as representative of a continental European approach. We collected data from 20 Universities and classified the studied subject areas along our framework. Our results show that even in the context of the Bologna Declaration and common credit transfer systems, the study programmes nationally and internationally remain very diverse. Indeed, this makes comparisons between study programmes difficult to ascertain. The analysis reveals indications that the controversy in information systems is often due to two related but fundamentally diverse streams, one being a technology-and engineering-orientated focus and the other being a business- and management-orientated emphasis. The relatively strong inclusion of engineering principles appears to be typical for business informatics degrees, emphasizing both mathematics and structural science. Logistics, accounting, and economics are specific courses which are common to most business informatics curricula. The study led to the development and accreditation of a business informatics study programme at Dublin City University. In this article we summarize the curriculum and present experiences made during the accreditation process. Indeed the accreditation process confirmed our earlier result, that information systems have two fundamentally different streams: technology and managerial orientation. This programme was introduced in September 2006, with a relative low number of students enrolling in the programme, and we report on experiences made during the last two years of running the programme. Graduates from this programme were all recruited into related employment. Furthermore, practitioners confirmed the career relevant curriculum.… [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article deals with trade union organization and skill in the cotton and engineering in industries in Great Britain from 1850 to 1960. There has been a growing awareness of the significance of skill within the manual working class for an understanding of the historical development of class relations in the region. Events in the British engineering industry have illustrated the continuing importance of differences around the axis of skill for an understanding of the manual working class. The cotton and engineering industries between 1850 and 1960 is known for its persistence of the skilled divide within the manual working class and its close connection with the structure of trade unionization.

The article focuses on the institutional proliferation of engineering profession in Great Britain from 1847 to 1914. British engineering underwent a remarkable expansion in the nineteenth century, a result of the spread of industrialization and the need for men to provide the machines and expertise for canal and railway building, dock and lighthouse construction, urban development, and the manufacture of a great range of mechanical equipment. Several explanations may be advanced for these apparent anomalies. It could be argued that institutional proliferation was a response to professional success in a laissez-faire society, with educational conservatism reflecting a commitment to the ideal of self help. Alternatively, it is possible that the proliferation of institutions represented a measure of reaction--a withdrawal into congenial company within a largely hostile environment--and that the objection to all proposals for systematic engineering education stemmed from a prejudice against outside interference. The third possibility is that the effectiveness of proliferation thoroughly justified such a policy.

The article focuses on product elimination theory and company practices. There is a gap between theory and practice in the area of product elimination. Existing knowledge and theory about the product elimination function is woefully inadequate to provide an understanding of company behavior in this area. This may be attributed to both the paucity of empirical contributions to the understanding of the product elimination function, and the shortcomings of the normative approaches developed to provide some evidence in this area. In fact, the normative approaches proposed in the literature being distilled from somewhat limited experience, common sense and logic, have distinct overtones of evangelical fervor and draw no boundary as to the specific product and company conditions to which they apply. The process through which elimination decisions are made and implemented in a particular company is related to the problem situation that evoked such a process, the importance of the role played by the product within the company and vis-a-vis its users, and the nature of the company, its business, its management, and its environment.

This article examines the industrial relations and the organization of engineering work from 1880 to 1939 in Great Britain. According to the author, the last 15 years have witnessed an explosion of academic interest in the historical development of industrial work. The theoretical touchstone of this debate, Harry Braverman's Labour and Monopoly Capitalism, depicted the evolution of industrial work as the progressive separation of conception and execution, in which machinery and Taylorism combined to wrest knowledge and control over work from an increasingly deskilled and enfeeble proletariat. Braverman's argument has, however, come under increasingly severe criticism as historical and comparative studies have undermined the view that the evolution of specific labour processes can be deduced from an a priori model of capitalist development. The contingent nature of long run changes in work organization has shifted attention from the refinement of teleological theories of industrial development to the search for an adequate method of studying change and continuity in work organisation. Particularly important in this respect is the insistence that the division of labour is shaped by the complex interaction between employer strategies, labour and product markets.