Experience over more
than ten years of the Scheme has shown that
there are a number of key factors which
contribute to a smoothly run project with a
successful outcome. Most important of all is
that there is a genuine belief and
confidence on the part of engineers,
teachers and managers that the Scheme has
the potential to enhance students' knowledge
of engineering and engineers through
hands-on experience of solving real
industrial problems.
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the nature of the
project;
The project should
be a real engineering problem faced by
the participating company, not one
invented for the sake of the Scheme. It
should have sufficient depth and scope
to challenge and stretch the students'
understanding and intellect, but it
should not be so large and broad as to
be impractical to undertake. Ideally, it
should have clear cost benefits and a
sense of urgency, and be one which will
motivate, excite and enthuse the
students.
Given adequate support, students should
not be constrained to their initial
level of understanding. They come to
appreciate that there are ways and means
of acquiring the necessary knowledge and
skills. In addition, the benefits of
on-going links between company and
school greatly increase a company's
awareness of what standards the students
are likely to achieve and facilitate the
setting of an appropriate problem.
Careful project
selection, prior preparation and
planning are essential to project
success. The project should have clear
aims and objectives achievable within
the time scale and it should encourage
team working and problem solving as part
of good industrial practice.
Experience has
shown that project briefs with tangible
hardware outcomes can be particularly
successful. Conversely, of the less
successful projects, analysis indicates
that a lack of sound selection,
objectives, sound project plan, good
project management or poorly
qualified/motivated participants has
inevitably resulted in a poor project
outcome.
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the people involved:
students, engineers and teachers;
The attitude and
commitment of students, company
engineers and teachers is crucial to the
project's outcome.
Students
should be carefully selected by the
school, with particular attention paid
to academic competence (shown by high
GCSE results), verbal and written
communication skills, personal
self-confidence and motivation, and
industrial, technological and economic
awareness. Students should be assessed
for their ability to work in a team, be
studying subjects suitable for admission
into an accredited undergraduate
engineering course and ideally be
contemplating an engineering career.
Company
engineers need to take both the
ideals of the Scheme and their
relationship with the student team very
seriously. They should have the
qualities to enthuse young people about
engineering, and be able to identify,
brief and manage a suitable project.
Research has shown that those engineers
who have been part of the learning
process, and used the project for their
own professional development, have been
associated with successful outcomes.
This is particularly relevant to younger
engineers for whom the Scheme is now
accredited to provide recognised
Continuing Professional Development
experience.
Engineer time,
rather than money, is the most valuable
commodity the company donates to the
Scheme. Success is most assured when the
project is managed/supervised throughout
by the same engineer. The loss of
continuity caused by a change of
engineer can disrupt the project badly
and should be avoided at all costs.
Teachers come from
various disciplines and positions within
schools to play a key role in ensuring
projects run smoothly and effectively.
They need to build a strong rapport with
the company engineer and participate in
the direction of the student
investigation. The 'contact' teacher
will be facilitator, troubleshooter,
adviser and friend at different stages
of the project.
Teachers
will be deeply involved in all aspects
of the project, but they need to
maintain a sense of perspective.
Practice has shown that sometimes
over-enthusiastic teachers can upset the
equilibrium of a project by wanting to
do everything themselves.
Parental support
and encouragement is also a factor to be
considered in completing projects
successfully. Parental influence can be
enormously significant in terms of
motivating team members and facilitating
progress.
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the level of
institutional support offered.
The importance of
the support of companies and schools
cannot be over-emphasised. It should go
beyond basic administrative back-up
which pays only lip service to the
ideals and requirements of the Scheme.
Top management
support within companies enhances the
project by helping to make student teams
feel welcome and that their work is
worthwhile. It also fosters a sense of
security and ownership of the project by
company engineers. Equally, when top
managers tacitly or overtly criticise
their own engineers for devoting so much
time to the Scheme, the entire project
can be subtly undermined.
The establishment
of a long-term link between company and
school/sixth form college is beneficial.
It increases the company's experience of
working with students and the school's
understanding of the company's
operations.
Just as it is
important to have the visible support of
senior management in companies, so head
teachers in schools should show
commitment to the Scheme – as well as
senior teaching colleagues who may have
to organise cover when teachers are
absent as part of the project. These
senior colleagues are more likely to be
persuaded of the benefits of the Scheme
if they recognise that the selected
students are equipped to deal with the
extra burdens imposed by the engineering
project.
Experience has
shown that commitment to the Scheme
among head teachers varies from project
to project. Sometimes fine words are not
translated into fine deeds. But when
head teachers are prepared to take a
lead in coordinating relationships and
organising teaching cover within the
school to ensure that the project runs
smoothly, another vital ingredient for
success is added.
