The UK lacks sufficient numbers of engineers, especially in industry, it is often said. A scheme run by the University of Sheffield is trying to combat this by showing undergraduates that engineering is an ¡°aspirational¡± career path.

¡°The numbers of engineers we require [in the country] are quite challenging,¡± said Neil Hopkinson, director of the Sheffield Engineering Leadership Academy (Sela) and professor of manufacturing engineering.

¡°What I see Sela doing is making engineering perhaps a more aspirational career choice than it might have been¡­and that will then hopefully feed down and change a societal perception in the UK. That¡¯s an important step to [increasing] the numbers and the quality of our next generation of undergraduates and the following generation of engineers.¡±

Sela, which has been running since 2014, is an ¡°extracurricular leadership scheme covering all the engineering disciplines¡± which aims to ¡°address the UK skills gap in engineering by equipping graduates to take on leadership roles and create a positive impact in research and industry¡±, according to its website.

ÖйúAƬ

Professor Hopkinson said that engineering courses at UK and global universities are excellent in terms of ¡°technical content¡±, but perhaps were not as strong in developing the students¡¯ ¡°softer skills¡± which ¡°augment those high technical skills and content¡±.

The scheme has a limited number of places available for undergraduates and they must show the necessary ¡°aptitudes and potential¡±. The programme is looking for students who demonstrate a range of qualities including enterprise, good judgement and personal vision. Other qualities it looks for are flexibility and self-awareness/self-improvement.

ÖйúAƬ

¡°What we¡¯re looking for are students who have either demonstrated some of those attributes or look to have the propensity to demonstrate those attributes,¡± Professor Hopkinson said. ¡°We get a mix of both.¡±

He continued that improving engineering graduates¡¯ all-round skills is one of the programme¡¯s fundamental aims, as this will best equip them for the professional world.

¡°It¡¯s very much focusing on the soft skills with a view of developing these individuals for leadership positions,¡± he said. ¡°The simplest way to picture how we think Sela undergraduates may come out of university compared with others is that most of our undergraduates would expect to be suitable for graduate programmes in companies.

¡°A lot of very large companies have fast-track graduate programmes and we¡¯d expect the profile of Sela graduates would be suited to these fast-track routes.¡±

What makes Sela different perhaps to other similar schemes is that it doesn¡¯t focus solely on packaging undergraduates for industry. It also aims to encourage its students to consider a career in academia, something that they will not necessarily have thought about before, Professor Hopkinson noted.

¡°One of the objectives is to broaden the experience of the students by providing opportunities to engage with research and perhaps put the whole concept of doing an engineering PhD on their radar,¡± he said. ¡°The mindset of the undergraduate engineer very much is thinking about going into industry, whereas perhaps with a scientist there¡¯s a bit more of an interest, a skew towards continuing to do research in the fundamental sciences. In engineering, we don¡¯t manage to retain some of the higher performing undergraduates who are willing to stay on and do academic research, or consider an academic career.

¡°The expression ¡®engineering¡¯ doesn¡¯t really resonate as well as perhaps maybe ¡®science¡¯ does. A lot of people, students in schools, will study sciences but they won¡¯t study engineering. That is something that we¡¯re looking to address.¡±

The bonus of this multifaceted programme, Professor Hopkinson said, is that if students decide that the academy is not for them, they will ¡°at least know how universities will work, so that when they go and work in industry they¡¯ll have a better chance of being able to strike up positive working relationships¡± with universities.

ÖйúAƬ

So what does Professor Hopkinson envisage for the future? Ultimately, he would like to see the appointment of the first Sela professor, but from its early days he is already noticing a ¡°strong network of people with vision in engineering and with ambition [to become] leaders in engineering¡±. He also foresees possibilities of Sela students assuming leadership positions in ¡°government or non-governmental organisations even¡±.

ÖйúAƬ

He also expressed a hope that the Sela model might be emulated by his colleagues in other institutions. Within Sheffield, Sela students are already encouraging other engineering undergraduates to consider applying for the course. Although pleased with this, Professor Hopkinson has a word of warning.

¡°Sela students are pre-warned that it¡¯s going to be hard work, and they know that, and we¡¯re good to our word on that,¡± he said. ¡°Sela is a great opportunity, but also very hard work. I¡¯m delighted that that message is out there.¡±

john.elmes@tesglobal.com

In numbers

55,000 ¨C?the current annual shortfall?of skilled workers, according to?Engineering UK

Campus news

University of Salford
Evidence from marine biologists indicates that tough new European Union policies on ¡°fish fraud¡± appear to be working. Genetic tests carried out between 2013 and 2014 by University of Salford scientists on seafood sold in 19 European cities found just 4.9 per cent to be mislabelled compared with about 20 per cent in 2012. ¡°Genetic identification methods have progressively exposed faults in the supply chain, raising public awareness and warning industry that malpractice will be detected,¡± said Stefano Mariani, professor in the School of Environment and Life Sciences at Salford.

Goldsmiths, University of London
A leading British artist has donated ?75,000 for scholarships at his former art school. Gary Hume, who studied fine art at Goldsmiths, University of London in the 1980s, will fund a total of six art students from low-income backgrounds to the tune of ?1,400 each a term. Turner Prize-nominated Hume, who emerged as a leading member of the 1990s Young British Artists scene alongside fellow Goldsmiths graduates Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas, said that he hoped the money would give recipients ¡°a bit more time" to spend on their artwork and ¡°doing what they¡¯re supposed to be doing ¨C making mistakes and learning¡±.

University of Strathclyde
A polling expert won a prestigious award in recognition of his contribution to public debate. John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, received the political studies communicator award at the Political Studies Association¡¯s annual ceremony. Professor Curtice has for 23 years led the team that produces the general election exit poll and was a prominent commentator during the 2015 election campaign, where his team's poll was the first indicator of the unforeseen result.

Durham University
Researchers investigating the potential impact on climate of volcanic eruptions in the world¡¯s polar regions have concluded that they could have a destabilising effect on ice sheets. Academics from Durham University discovered eruptions could possibly cause localised warming in Antarctica and Greenland. The study looked at links between huge volcanic eruptions and polar temperatures during the last Ice Age, with findings suggesting that some periods of Antarctic warming between 30,000 to 80,000 years ago were triggered by volcanic eruptions in the northern hemisphere.

De Montfort University
Academics and graduates have published a poetry anthology to raise money for refugees. Kathleen Bell, principal lecturer for English and creative writing courses at De Montfort University, worked with colleagues across the institution, local poets and alumni to write the collection in three months. The anthology?Over Land, Over Sea, features more than 100 poems examining the plight of refugees. Proceeds from sales of the book will be shared between M¨¦decins Sans Fronti¨¨res, Leicester City of Sanctuary and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum.

Universities of Manchester, Sheffield and Leicester
Infants aged under a year are most at risk of serious physical abuse and more likely than other children to die from such injuries, reveals a study published online in the?Emergency Medicine Journal. A research team including staff from the universities of Manchester, Sheffield and Leicester based their findings on the Trauma Audit and Research Network, a database based in Manchester that is used by hospitals to submit information on patients treated for serious injuries.

University of Derby?
Work has started on a new ?12.5 million facility for science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the University of Derby. The new STEM centre will focus on ¡°real-world learning¡± and combine teaching space with infrastructure designed for the needs of engineering and computing. For example, accessible roof space will provide new opportunities for sustainable energy teaching, and the energy use of the building will be captured to support the teaching of control systems. It is expected to be completed by 2017.

Brunel University London
A new ?10 million manufacturing research hub will explore how liquid metal products can be commercialised. Based primarily at Brunel University London, the Manufacturing Hub in Future Liquid Metal Engineering will initially explore how the UK¡¯s automotive industry and its supply chain can use new methods of casting molten metal to reduce wastage. The new centre will be funded by ?10 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council over the next seven years, with an additional ?45 million investment from industrial partners.

ÖйúAƬ