HVMC Industry Day

Industry Day Project

Industry Day is an annual WMG outreach event where engineering and technology companies meet Year 9–10 students to spark interest in engineering and support widening participation.

This project focused on strengthening Industry Day by understanding why partners take part, what support they need, and how WMG can make the event more engaging for students. Insights from partner discussions and research informed new tools and guidance to improve confidence, communication, and student interaction.

Morenike Allinson

WMG Widening Participation Intern
Final-year Psychology student

This internship particularly appealed to me as it allowed me to apply psychological theory in a real-world setting that supports and uplifts the local community. It also provided an opportunity to explore why companies engage in outreach and participation, not simply as buzzwords, but as meaningful, actionable commitments that can make a lasting impact when time and effort are invested. Through this work, I also contributed to developing a framework to help local industry partners deliver impactful outreach and take on mentoring roles for students at future events. If you would like to see any of my previous experience or projects I have worked on I would love to connect here.

Project Aims

Strengthen relationships between WMG and industry partners to help them prepare effectively for Industry Day.
Identify partners’ motivations, expectations, and concerns around widening participation.
Develop new, creative methods for understanding students’ expectations before the event.
Improve partner confidence in communicating engineering to young people.
Support student engagement through clear structure and interactive tools.

Why this matters?

Coventry and Warwickshire have some of the lowest rates of young people progressing into higher education. Strengthening communication between industry and schools can help address this gap by giving students relatable, hands-on exposure to engineering careers.

Research also shows that interactive, student-centred activities improve recall, build confidence, and make workshops more meaningful, especially for widening participation learners. This evidence shaped the training and tools developed during the project.

Method

1. Partner Insight Questionnaire- A short Qualtrics survey was developed to understand partner motivations. Although response rates were low, the initial insights helped guide later conversations.

2. Industry Partner Training Session- The training session became the main source of qualitative insight, as partners openly shared concerns about student disengagement, uncertainty around filling a 45-minute session, challenges in pitching content at the right level, and the difficulty of creating interactive activities. These insights directly shaped ideas proposed for development of resources and Industry Day.

3. Educational and Outreach Research- The work drew on widening participation data, and research on interactive learning and psychological safety to guide recommendations.

Key deliverables

The project produced several deliverables that will support both WMG and industry partners in preparing for future Industry Days. The first was an employer engagement insight summary, which analysed partners’ motivations and concerns to help strengthen relationships and improve preparation for the event. This work provided WMG with a clearer understanding of what partners hope to achieve and what support they require.

Another deliverable was the development and delivery of partner training. This training offered practical, research-backed guidance on how to communicate engineering concepts to widening participation students and how to make workshop activities more interactive and engaging. These materials helped increase partner confidence ahead of the event.

The project also introduced two new student-facing tools designed to improve understanding and engagement. The Industry Day Vision Board is a proposed pre-event activity that allows students to express their existing knowledge, interests, confidence levels, and expectations about engineering. This tool gives WMG and partners valuable insight into what students want from the day.

Alongside this, the Industry Day Passport was created as a proposed engagement tool for use during the event. The Passport encourages students to visit companies, ask questions, and collect stamps as they move through activities, helping to motivate curiosity and participation in a low-pressure way.

Finally, internal resources were developed, including webpage copy and research summaries, to clearly communicate the purpose, structure, and future development of Industry Day. These materials provide WMG with a more consistent and sustainable framework to build on.

Key insights

Partners are enthusiastic about supporting young people but often need more guidance on structuring sessions and encouraging engagement.

Interactivity reduces student anxiety, improves confidence, and makes learning more memorable.

Traditional surveys may not fully capture students’ expectations, creative tools like Vision Boards might provide richer insight.

Impact

Strengthened relationships with industry partners through targeted insight gathering.

Increased partner confidence after receiving practical, research-backed training.

Introduced two new methods for understanding and supporting students (Vision Board and Passport).

Expanded WMG’s approach to student insight collection beyond surveys.

Provided internal materials that will help shape future years of Industry Day.

Future direction

The Vision Board and Passport arenew proposalscreated during this project. Future Industry Days can:

Pilot both tools with schools and gather feedback.
Refine partner training based on what works best in practice.
Enhance consistency by building a library of ready-made interactive activity ideas.
Strengthen evaluation to improve Industry Day year on year.

These proposals give WMG a foundation for a more structured, engaging, and research-informed outreach model.