Starting today (12 April), the new IMechE Springpod programme will show almost 1,000 school students how engineers are working to combat global challenges and explain how they can also join the profession.
Created in response to the detrimental effect of Covid-19 on work experience opportunities, the free programme for years 10 to 13 will explore the different disciplines of mechanical engineering with a varied set of activities, including videos and live webinars, infographics and text-based work.
Learning will focus on the role of mechanical engineers in sustainability and climate change, the future of transport, and management of infectious diseases. Speakers, including Ford chief programme engineer Sarah Haslam, NHS chief engineer Mike Ralph and IMechE chief executive Dr Alice Bunn, will showcase the diverse nature of engineering, the increasingly cross-disciplinary nature of the profession, and explain why engineering is an attractive career choice.
From F1 to Covid-19
One of the speakers will be Ben Hodgkinson, technical director of the Red Bull Formula One team’s powertrains division. Hodgkinson has enjoyed a varied career, he told Professional Engineering, starting with modified road legal cars in the World Rally Championship and eventually reaching F1.
The automotive expert will work with students on the ‘managing infectious diseases’ module, thanks to his work on the Ventura breathing aid during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Professor Tim Baker from University College London (UCL), a former rally team colleague, got in touch with a request for help on the project, which reverse-engineered a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device to help patients with serious respiratory problems.
The intense time pressure of F1 engineering was perfect preparation for the extreme project deadlines, which rushed to design, manufacture and deliver the devices ahead of a predicted surge in patient numbers.
“Motorsport was a great way to engineer something very rapidly, which was what was required,” said Hodgkinson.
Long hours were nothing new for Hodgkinson after two decades in F1, and after three 20-hour days in a row, his team had completed a prototype design – two days later, they had a physical prototype.
“There were phone calls to a Downing Street office where some very senior politicians are on the other end of the phone wanting to know what we were up to,” said Hodgkinson. “I had to create images for them to see, and I had something like 30 seconds to do it. It was a level of intensity that was actually beyond what I'd experienced in motorsport.”
Working on the project, Hodgkinson quickly realised how useful his experience was, and how transferrable his expertise was between different sectors. It also reminded him of the importance of focusing on the physics fundamentals, something he aims to pass on to students taking part in the IMechE Springpod programme.
“What I'd be telling young engineers that are about to start a career is always understand why something is like it is before you use it,” he said. “Never lose sight of that, because it's really important, and you can find some really interesting performance improvements.”
Future generations
IMechE education outreach & safeguarding lead Jelena Gacesa said she was “delighted” to be launching the IMechE’s first mechanical engineering work experience programme. “It has been an incredible project to lead, and I am thrilled that the pilot has seen registrations of just under 1,000 students,” she said. “I am looking forward on the IMechE building on this success and developing work experience opportunities for future generations of engineers.”
Despite more students choosing STEM subjects in recent years, there has not been a comparable increase of young people going into engineering careers, she said. “In response to this, the IMechE education programme has begun to focus its efforts on enhancing work experience opportunities and careers advice for young people. The IMechE/ Springpod work experience will inform students about the sector and routes into the profession, showcase cutting edge innovations, highlight careers options, and spotlight aspirational role models.”
More engineers are needed, said Hodgkinson, and the programme can play an important role in explaining the value of the profession. “Engineers have got a huge responsibility to try and address some of the most important issues that we face, with sustainability being a major one,” he said. “It's enormously important to encourage new talent into the field.”
Students will be awarded certificates of completion for future employers to see once they have finished their work experience.
For more information, visit the Springpod website.
Want the best engineering stories delivered straight to your inbox? The Professional Engineering newsletter gives you vital updates on the most cutting-edge engineering and exciting new job opportunities. To sign up, click here.
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.