WMG High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centre is working with the Smallpeice Trust and the Faraday Institution to create and deliver a Fully Electric Challenge for year 11 students.

The online course has been created by a team of four WMG graduate trainee engineers, including Ben Hunt; Lauren Cooper; Irma Houmadi and Joshua Wallis, with support from the WMG Outreach team.

It aims to deliver key insights into the battery industry, provide an overview of transport electrification and explain how this translates to wider areas of society.

Students will have the opportunity to design and build an automotive product using engineering concepts and processes, before presenting their designs and ideas to their peers.

The course will also provide details on a variety of STEM career paths that can help contribute to a more sustainable future.

Ben Hunt explained: “This is another great event to be involved in which highlights the exciting range of careers in STEM. I hope we manage to capture the multi-disciplinary nature of electrification during the four-day course, it really is a one-stop-workshop!

“It has been great to work alongside some fantastic professionals in designing the event and I’m looking forward to listening to their lectures myself. The event content is derived from their real-world experience across various industries so I am confident students will be as informed as they could be, certainly more than I was in my final school years!”

Lauren Cooper added: One of my favourite parts of my job at WMG is inspiring the engineers of the future by designing and delivering events like the Fully Electric Challenge. I think it is important to give students a taste of how exciting a career in engineering can be, and demonstrate the importance of STEM in the future world. Through the Fully Electric challenge, we aim to show how broad the subject of electrification is including aspects of battery technology, economics and policy for sustainability in transport as well as wider society. STEM careers provide so many opportunities to learn and make impact in society through the development of technology for electrification. Having studied chemistry and started my career as a graduate at WMG, I have really enjoyed learning how underlying battery chemistries are developed manufactured and implemented utilising knowledge and skills from other areas of STEM.”

Each year 124,000 new engineers and technicians are needed to meet current and future demands. The Smallpeice Trust is an educational charity that inspires young people to pursue careers in science and engineering through events and workshops.

It takes place from 9-13th August (except on 12th August - GCSE results day) from 9.30am to 1.30pm. Once registered each student is sent instructions, a guide to the activities and a kit enabling them to build a battery powered vehicle.

To register your place visit: https://www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk/course-page/8cbb5b40-ae76-eb11-a812-0022481a98e1

The WMG Outreach team has been making special Christmas deliveries to children across the West Midlands and Warwickshire.

Young engineers from a total of 15 local schools have been sent parcels with card templates of stars, stags, sleighs and baubles; a mini laser-cut Christmas tree and 3D printed cubes, octopuses and dinosaurs.

The year five and six children were also set some special STEM challenges including creating their own 3D Christmas decorations but without the use of glue.

WMG Outreach Project Officer, Phil Jemmett explained: “These boxes use the expertise of engineers at WMG to create exciting activities to engage children with ‘engineering’ - without a car in sight. We want to provide children with a chance to see creativity and engineering as two parts of the same approach to solving a problem.

“Inside the boxes are templates to build Christmas decorations out of paper – and once they have made a few they will notice the advantages of flat-packing the items we see in shops because they won’t all fit back in the box they came from!

“Last year, this resource box was the most fun activity we worked on. It has been a bit different this year and without the help of our fantastic technicians Beth Haynes; Joe Benjamin and Ehman Altaf, it would not have been possible to laser cut or 3D print any items to go in these boxes.”

WMG Director of Outreach and Widening Participation , Professor Margaret Low added: “I’m delighted that WMG is again able to share the engineering activity boxes with local primary schools. It’s important that we work in partnership with teaching colleagues at all stages of education, to raise awareness of engineering and how it contributes to our society.”

Find out more about WMG’s Outreach programme here.

*In total 25 boxes were sent out. Local schools involved were:

· St Giles Junior School, Bedworth

· Charter Primary School, Coventry

· St Joseph, Kings Norton, Birmingham

· St Columba, Rednal, Birmingham

· St James, Rednal, Birmingham

· St Thomas More, Sheldon, Birmingham

· St Brigid, Northfield, Birmingham

· St Paul, Birmingham

· Arley Primary School, Nuneaton

· Burton Green Primary School, Coventry

· Balsall Common Primary School, Balsall Common

· Burbage Junior School

· Dorridge Primary School, Solihull

· Shottery St Andrews Primary School

· Clifford Bridge Academy, Coventry

WMG’s Outreach Team, with support from the WMG centre HVM Catapult staff, have been helping children with fun and creative STEM activities to help with home schooling.

With schools currently closed, the Team have been working hard to create educational resources highlighting the value of engineering for children of all ages.

WMG Outreach Project Officer, Dr Phil Jemmett, has also taken part in the last two Global Science Shows, an initiative that brings together science activities and experiments from all over the world, live on Twitter.

In the first show, Phil demonstrated three separate science experiments, exploring density and floating, using 3D printed parts in just two minutes. In the second show Phil showcased the classic bottle rocket launch! However this time, instead of using a cork to hold back the pressure, the launcher used a rupture disk which acts as an important safety feature on some industrial equipment.

Why Outreach?

“Coventry and the wider Midlands has a proud engineering history – take Sir Frank Whittle as an example. Hearsall Common features a plaque paying homage to a moment in history when Frank, as a child, saw a plane land on that field. He went on to pioneer the jet engine, receive a knighthood, give lectures at NASA and be voted amongst the top 100 Britons of all time. Quite the list of achievements! But each great journey starts with one small step, and the motivation to take that step,” explains Phil.

He adds: “At WMG, we take part in inspiring and amazing work that deserves to be shared and spread to young people in the area. The power of our research to inspire and motivate the next generation of children, by giving them an experience just like Sir Frank’s watching the plane land at Hearsall Common, is immense. While the demonstrations in the Global Science Show videos are only small we are not aiming to invent the next jet engine with each one – we are hoping to provide the spark that kindles a burning passion in a young person to succeed in engineering.”

Home schooling support

You can find all the WMG home schooling activities including video demonstrations at WMG Experiments and the Engineer Inside.

WMG’s Outreach team has completed another successful series of Royal Institution Masterclasses for school children across Coventry.

The classes aim to open the eyes of young people to the excitement of engineering, and in turn, inspire the next generation of scientists, mathematicians and engineers.

Local schools were invited to nominate two year nine students to take part, with a total of 24 students participating in the sessions overall.

The Masterclasses were held on Saturday mornings in the form of interactive workshop sessions focusing on a different aspect of engineering. The Series was delivered by staff and students from WMG, with several of this year’s classes led by researchers working on key WMG HVM Catapult projects.

Professor Margaret Low, Director of Outreach and Widening Participation at WMG explained: “Sadly, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the final masterclass focusing on software and control could not be held as an interactive session on campus.

“Instead myself and Helen Luckhurst, Project Officer at WMG HVM Catapult, held the final session virtually across two evenings.”

Professor Low added: “The virtual classes were a complete first for the Outreach team, a strange but still successful end to the Masterclasses. We presented a series of video tutorials and the students then used their programming and pattern skills to create an embroidered pattern design for a coaster. There were some really great designs.”

Find out more about the 2020 RI Masterclasses here.

Now that schools across the UK are closed due to Covid-19, the challenge is on for parents to keep their children educated. Or failing that – just keep them occupied.

The outreach team from WMG, University of Warwick, want to encourage children and their parents and carers to use this time to explore some of the fun, creative STEM learning opportunities which are available online. With support from WMG centre HVM Catapult, the outreach team at WMG has produced a number of online activities for children of all ages to get involved and learn something new.

Professor Margaret Low, Director of Outreach and Widening Participation for WMG, explains:
"With schools closing it’s a real opportunity to engage parents and carers with online teaching resources, to ensure children are getting an education at home during these uncertain times.”

“We hope these resources, which are suitable for young people of all ages, will inspire children to take up careers in STEM. Many children may think of engineering as physically making things, but don't realise the maths or computer design skills required, which could open up a great career for them in the future.”

The first resource suggested by WMG outreach team is Turtlestitch, which is great for children in school years 5 to 9. Turtlestitch is a free website on which users can write a program to control a digital embroidery machine. It is used by WMG for outreach activities, as a means of raising awareness of the breadth of engineering. Young people really enjoy using Turtlestitch for pattern design, with or without access to a digital embroidery machine, which makes it ideal for learning at home while schools are closed.

Helen Luckhurst, a Project Officer at WMG, University of Warwick comments: “Turtlestitch is great for children learning at home because it gives them a fun context for applying maths skills. It is interactive and engaging as children discover the patterns they can make using maths.”

“We have created a number of resource cards and video tutorials to support its use, so I hope that parents and carers will encourage their children to use this as a different way of learning.”

Find WMG video tutorials, how-to cards and maths tasks to guide users through Turtlestitch here. Explore the learning materials on basic programming skills, year 5 and 6 maths, craft projects and further mathematical investigations.

Another fun activity for both primary and secondary school children is Tinkercad, a colourful, easy to use computer-aided design software, which is free to use in the web browser and suitable for children from around 8 years of age. Teachers, kids, hobbyists, and designers use it to imagine, design, and make anything. It is used by WMG outreach as part of the Warwick Bright Stars programme in primary schools. Parents can find video tutorials and ideas for several projects here, including keyrings, money pots and lolly drip trays.

Diane Burton, a Project Officer at WMG, University of Warwick explains: "These Tinkercad projects engage children in the design process, and get them using measurements and maths as an essential part of their design work.”

Autodesk Fusion 360 is a powerful, professional CAD package. It is used in secondary schools and is suitable for ages 14+, and a free download is available to students, educators and enthusiasts. WMG video and written tutorials are available here, where you will find projects including design of assistive technology.

Parents may also want to do some experiments at home with their children, which are fun and educational for any age.

WMG staff have made videos available of demonstrating experiments to do at home, using household items and toys you might already have. It is advisable that children are supervised during these experiments.

Watch Graduate Trainee Engineers Lauren, Jacob, Josh and Lucas demonstrating STEM experiments, and follow a guide to building a pulley from a toy construction set. There are many more experiments to come, telling the engineering story behind household objects.

Dr Phil Jemmett, a Project Officer at WMG, University of Warwick comments: “Every product in your house has been made by engineers and shaped by scientists. We want to tell the story behind those items and show you experiments that you can do with everyday stuff. Now that we are all staying in our homes, we just have to find a way to do STEM with what we’ve got!”

Parental supervision is advised when accessing external websites.

The WMG Outreach team, funded by the lmagineering Foundation, has delivered a special CAD and 3D printing programme to more than 200, ten and 11 year olds across Coventry and Warwickshire.

Four University of Warwick undergraduate engineering students delivered the programme, throughout 2019, in a series of workshops designed to raise awareness and knowledge of CAD and 3D printing.

Workshop 1: Introduction to the programme and learning about 3D printing

In the first session the team explained the role of engineers in the design process. The children were also shown how 3D printers are used to create prototypes.

Ice lollies!

In small groups the children were tasked with designing, (using CAD), and creating, (using 3D printing), an ice-lolly drip tray. During the design process the Outreach Team explained the importance of taking accurate measurements to ensure that the designs would actually work.

The challenge

Using a hairdryer (to create the feel of a warm summer’s day!) the children were presented with the problem of dripping lollies! The challenge to design a suitable drip tray was then set.

The children used life-sized 3D printed ice lollies on sticks to take key measurements needed for their drip tray designs. The pupils discussed and sketched design ideas including adding key measurements. These measurement and design sheets were then used in the next two workshops to help develop their CAD designs.

Workshop 2: Using Tinkercad to draw lolly drip tray designs in CAD

A video tutorial was used to show the children how to use Tinkercad. Building on their design work from Workshop One, the children began producing CAD drawings for the drip trays.

Workshop 3: Using scaled digital lolly model to assess and improve designs

Pupils put the finishing touches to their designs and used the scaled digital lolly models to visualise and assess their designs, considering any design modifications that were needed to ensure the drip tray was effective. The children were encouraged to continue this process until they were confident the design would work.

Towards the end of the workshop, the class shared their finished designs. The class then voted for their favourite two, these were then 3D printed and returned to the school as a momentum.

Diane Burton, Project Officer STEM Outreach explained: “The school pupils had fun learning key design principles, and they have successfully produced products that are both functional and creative.”

You can find out more about all of WMG’s Outreach activities here.

WMG’s Outreach team was pleased to play a part in the University of Warwick’s Winter Wonderland Family Day early this month.

The Team put together a series of STEM activities each with a special festive twist including:

Merry Stitchmas: software and control

Professor Margaret Low and Helen Luckhurst hosted a festive craft drop-in session introducing the public to coding in a creative context, with children and their families used Turtlestitch to write a computer program. This was then inputted into WMG’s digital embroidery machine. They watched the machine stitch their designs onto felt, then cut them out and added a loop of string to make tree decorations.

X-Peri-Mas

There’s never a better time to tinker with some science and engineering than over the Christmas holidays. Everyone is inside and there’s plenty of things in the kitchen cupboards to raid for experiments.

 Phil Jemmett put on a show of science and engineering tricks that young people could recreate at home over the Christmas holidays. Volunteers learned how to do tricks like making a rainbow pattern on a water surface, creating a tornado in a bottle, turning a jar full of water upside down without a lid and (usually) without making a mess, and how to do rocket science with fuel from the kitchen.

 Miniature Race Track

Staff from the WMG Graduate Development Scheme gave children and their families an introduction to autonomous technology with children guiding their driverless vehicles around a festive miniature racetrack. The vehicle was a self-driving reindeer robot pulling a 3D-printed sleigh that the children had decorated. They were given an insight into the technology inside autonomous vehicles and how they worked, exploring how objects were identified and tackling winter driving scenarios.

 Find out more about WMG’s Outreach activities here.

The WMG Outreach Team had a busy summer term concluding with the Experience Warwick Year 10 Summer School, which ran from 3-6 July and was supported by the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

The programme was created and led by Phil Jemmett and saw a total of 42 students, aged 14 and 15 years, work on mini-engineering projects in small teams. They were supported by University of Warwick student ambassadors, research staff and Graduate Trainee Engineers from WMG.

Professor Margaret Low, Widening Participation Officer for WMG explained: “The projects were designed to introduce the youngsters to key engineering skills and to help them to recognise the importance of resilience and team work.

“The students had some fantastic ideas, including a smart city model, radio based game and remote controlled cars, which were presented to their families and teachers at a special showcase event.”

The Summer School, organised by Warwick Outreach and Widening Participation Team, gave the students a true insight into life at university: they got to stay in University of Warwick halls of residence, attend academic sessions and experience the social and sport facilities on campus.

Based on the success of the project, next summer it will be expanded into a full work experience programme in July 2020. To find out more contact wmgoutreach@warwick.ac.uk

In the Autumn term, local schools were invited to nominate two year 9 pupils (1 boy, 1 girl) to attend the Saturday morning Royal Institution Engineering Masterclasses in WMG, at the University of Warwick in the spring term. These classes commenced on Saturday 26th January.

This Series aims to open the eyes of young people to the excitement, beauty and value of engineering, and in turn, inspire the next generation of scientists, mathematicians and engineers.

The Series is delivered by staff and students from WMG. Each masterclass focuses on an aspect of modern engineering and is presented by an engineer actively involved in research or working in industry. The classes take the form of interactive workshop sessions.

The dates for the RI Masterclasses 2019 Series are:

Saturday mornings January 26th, February 2nd and 9th, March 2nd, 9th, 16th.

The sessions delivered in 2019 are listed below.

• Software and Control: Margaret Low
• Computer Aided Design and 3D printing: Diane Burton
• The Power of Process: Mairi Macintyre
• Crash Structures from Recycled Materials: Peter Wilson
• Autonomous Vehicles - a taste of things to come: Valentina Donzella
• Welcome to Batteries: Mel Loveridge + Eve Wheeler-Jones

• Scientists from Coventry and Warwick universities to appear in city pubs and venues as the world's largest festival of public science talks arrives in Coventry and Leamington from the 20-22 May
• Talks will cover a wide range of topics including sleep, batteries, space, dyslexia, pollution, plastic and paramedics
• Coventry to join nearly 300 cities around the world taking part in this global festival
• Some evenings are already sold out. Tickets are on sale from: pintofscience.co.uk/events/coventry

See Press Release

Examples of talks from Life Sciences

It's in your genes - 20 May 7:30-9:30pm - a series of three talks, including:

Dr Robert Spooner and Professor Kevin Moffat - The DNA Double Act

Who discovered DNA? Well, the double act Watson and Crick - right? Well, not according to Kevin and Robert, who will introduce you to a host of “lesser known” pairs that helped to pioneer the discovery, sequencing and understanding of DNA. Exploring historical events, the 100,000 Human Genome project and beyond; this talk literally has “something for everyone” as genetic research paves the way to personalised medical treatments. Even DNA likes a companion – just look at its structure! So, why not bring a friend and come along to find out more about DNA, and who really did discover it!

Nurturing nature – 20 May 7:30-9:30pm - a series of three talks including:
Amy Newman (PhD Student, University of Warwick) - More than dirt: the hidden world under our feet

Many of us give little thought to the soil beneath our feet but it's vital for all life on earth. Amy's talk will unearth some fascinating examples of the microscopic life that's living all around us. Come along to find out about the microbes which helped to create the first plants to colonise the Earth's surface millions of years ago, and to hear about recent advances in scientific methods which show exciting potential for the discovery of new chemicals such as pharmaceuticals.